Lani Evans hit her second homer of the playoffs, and second-seeded Dos Pueblos romped to a 9-0 win over Knight in a CIF Division 4 second-round softball game on Tuesday in Palmdale.
The Iona-bound Evans belted a three-run blast in the fifth inning to give the Chargers a 6-0 lead. She also homered in the 10-0 first-round win over Hawthorne.
DP advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals and will play at Aquinas in San Bernardino. Aquinas defeated Ocean View 4-2 on Tuesday.
The Chargers were in a scoreless game against Knight, the second-place team in the Golden League behind Division 4 top seed Highland. They broke through in the fourth inning, capitalizing on an error. Veronika Gulvin reached first on an error by the shortstop. Ali Milam singled to right and the ball was misplayed, allowing pinch runner Janet Salas to score the first run. Milam went to third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jade Sinksul to make it 2-0.
DP blew the game open in the fifth. Lauren Marmo led off the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. After a walk, Kai Uyesaka squeezed home Marmo and safely reached first base. Evans came up and cleared the bases with her eighth homer of the season for a 6-0 lead.
In the sixth, Marmo slapped a single to left, went to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a ground out. Uyesaka ripped a double to left, scoring Marmo for a 7-0 lead.
The Chargers added two more runs in the seventh. Milam reached first when her towering infield pop-up was dropped. With one out, Milam stole second. Siena Wagner came up with two outs and singled to left. Marmo followed with a single to score Milam. Pinch hitter Sirena Perez brought home Wagner for the ninth run. Uyesaka was robbed of an extra-base hit on terrific diving catch by the Knight center field to end the inning.
The UCSB-bound Gulvin went the distance on the mound to pick up the win.
