El Modena reaches semifinals with Wagner's help

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Softball playoffs: She strikes out 11 to set up showdown with Kennedy in semifinals.

ORANGE From the start of Friday's CIF-SS Division II softball quarterfinal between Ayala of Chino Hills and El Modena, it was obvious that Vanguards pitcher Kylie Wagner was going to have one of her better days.

Wagner struck out six of the first seven betters and finished with 11 overall as the Vanguards defeated the visiting Bulldogs, 2-1.

El Modena (24-8-1) will take on Kennedy in the semifinals Tuesday.

"Kylie really wanted this game,” El Modena coach Steve Harrington said. “The whole team really wanted it. … I couldn't be more proud of them. These kids have worked really hard and I'm glad to see it is paying dividends.”

After Wagner struck out the side in the top of the first inning, Allison Taylor reached on an error to start things off for the Vanguards in the bottom of the first.

Taylor took third on a single by Wagner and scored on a sacrifice bunt from Emiley McEwen to give the Vanguards a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Tracy Kleekamp's two-out single with the bases loaded scored McEwen to make the score 2-0.

The second run wound up being huge after the Bulldogs scored a run in the top of the fifth.

With their first run in, the Bulldogs had runners on first and second with one out when Nani St. Germain, a .402 hitter with nine home runs, hit a hard line drive to right that was caught by Mary Ogden.

Ogden fired the ball to first baseman Haylie Wagner to double up Mary Massei, who was half way between first and second when the ball was caught.

The victory over the Bulldogs (21-11) was the second for El Modena this season.

The Vanguards defeated the Bulldogs, 3-1, in the third place game of the Nike Fastest to First Tournament on March15.

In that tournament, Ayala had defeated Kennedy, then ranked No.1 in the nation.

Contact the writer: lponsi@ocregister.com