A rare three-peat: Oak Ridge beats state No. 1 Del Oro, claims CIF softball title
Ellison Schroeder knew the plan coming into the 2025 high school softball season.
The Oak Ridge Trojans of El Dorado Hills had arguably the best one-two punch in the pitching circle with Schroeder and sophomore Kennedi Freeland looking to carry the program to a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section large-school three-peat and beyond. The two aces were set to share the pitching duties, and with several Division I collegiate commits returning from back-to-back championship runs, axPreps had the Trojans ranked at No. 4 nationally to begin the season.
But Freeland, who went 14-4 with a 1.15 earned run average and 169 strikeouts as a freshman, suffered a season-ending injury after just seven appearances. That put the burden on Schroeder to shoulder the brunt of the innings. The Santa Clara commit answered the call in spades with career highs in nearly every pitching category. Entering Saturday's Division I championship game at Sacramento State, Schroeder was 17-3 with a 0.98 ERA, 169 strikeouts and four no-hitters.
She was in the circle for the final outs of each of the past two Oak Ridge section championships, and on Saturday against state-ranked No. 1 Del Oro of Loomis, Schroeder once again got the last out. With the potential winning run in scoring position, Schroeder got Abby Davidson, the section's leading home run hitter, to ground out to second for the final out of Oak Ridge's 3-2 win at Shea Stadium and to secure the school's first three-peat at the Division I level.
Oak Ridge owns the most softball championships in section history with 12 blue banners.
'I don't know how many people have been able to say that they've completed a three-peat,' said Schroeder. 'So, I think it's awesome, especially to do it my senior year.'
Ever reliable, Schroeder went the distance, allowing seven hits and two earned runs while striking out three.
'You can just see the confidence and the composure she plays with,' said Oak Ridge head coach Sam Toy of Schroeder. 'That just gives her defense more confidence. I couldn't be more proud of her.'
The Trojan defense played error free behind Schroeder, particularly the middle infield. Senior shortstop Carly Short – headed to North Carolina State – made a few ranging stabs for outs. Sophomore second baseman Gemma Almont threw out a pair of runners at the plate in the late innings to keep Del Oro from tying the score.
'We have a super strong team,' said junior center fielder Emery Glaser. 'The bond we have is incredible. So this team is real special, and I'm super glad to be able to pull it out a third time.'
Del Oro struck first when Davidson roped a one-out single, stole second and scored on an RBI double from Avyn Brower to make it 1-0 Golden Eagles after four innings. But in the top of the sixth, Oak Ridge loaded the bases for Glaser, and the Nevada-Reno commit laced a two-run double to left to put the Trojans in front, 2-1.
Later in the inning, Carmen Montes de Oca scored from third on a passed ball to extend the Trojans' lead to 3-1 after six innings.
Del Oro got one back in the bottom of the sixth as Chloe Champas singled home Caelyn Campos to make it 3-2. Champas had another big hit in the bottom of the seventh, but the lead runner got caught between third and home before a heads-up Almont threw her out at the plate. Schroeder then got the final out for the Trojans' 12th championship.
'Between me, Carmen and Carly, we've just left a lot of great leadership,' Schroeder said. 'I think we've done a really good job of working with the younger girls and kind of being mentors for them. So, I hope that they can take something from us and carry it on for the years to come.'
Before the 2025 season, Del Oro players collectively turned in their smartphones for a 30-day digital detox from social media to help improve and raise awareness for mental health and to bond as a team. The off-the-field experiment proved to have a major impact on the field as Del Oro rose to the No. 1 spot in CalHiSports.com's California state softball rankings for the first time in school history.
After the 30 days without their electronics ended, several players expressed what they thought was a direct correlation between the digital detox and the success on the field.
Before games, the Golden Eagles can be seen dancing in unison to Brooks and Dunn's 'Boot Scootin' Boogie.' Del Oro danced its way to a 28-1 record entering the section finals – its only loss coming against Oak Ridge in Sierra Foothill League play on March 21. Del Oro avenged that loss with a 4-2 win a month later to secure the SFL title and lock up the No. 1 seed in the Division I playoffs.
Champas and Davidson each had two hits for Del Oro on Saturday while Mikayla Finn threw all seven innings with six hits and two earned runs allowed and six strikeouts.
Both Oak Ridge (24-4) and Del Oro (28-2) qualify for the CIF Northern California Regional championship tournament, which begins on June 3 and culminates with regional finals on June 7.
Nick Pecoraro is a sports journalist and host of 'Premier Preps with Nick Pecoraro,' a weekly prep show available on YouTube that recaps games and teams in the Sacramento area each week. Find it at youtube.com/@PremierPreps.
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