Santiago's walk-off slam downs Canyon

IRVINE – The CIF-SS Division 1 championship came down to one of the best hitters in the nation going toe-to-toe with one of the best pitchers in the nation.

Michigan-bound Lauren Sweet drove one off Tennessee-bound Cheyanne Tarango over the fence in center field for a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to give Santiago of Corona a 4-1 victory over Canyon on Saturday night at Bill Barber Park.

"I have to pitch to Sweet," Canyon coach Dan Hay said. "We didn't want this kid to beat us. She's the best player on the team. We come down to the last inning. Do we want to walk her and tie the game and take our chances? Absolutely not.

"You got one of the best pitchers against one of the best hitters, and the hitter happened to win the battle this time."

Click here for the OCVarsity Hot Shots slide show from Saturday's championships.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Tarango walked No. 9 hitter Brenda Lee to load the bases. It was her third walk of the inning.

"I thought our pitcher was being squeezed the entire game," Hay said. "I thought there were two different strike zones.

"That to me didn't determine who won or lost the game. We played a phenomenal game until the last inning. We can't put three runners on base, especially from the bottom of their lineup, and then not expect something bad to happen."

Tarango fell behind Sweet, who crushed a 3-1 screwball for the walk-off grand slam.

"I just did the best that I could," Sweet said. "I waited for my pitch. It got to 3-1 and that's the best pitch you can hope for. I was just ready to hit. Oh my God, I didn't even feel it. Honestly, that was probably one of the best I've hit all year. I just cannot believe how this game ended. Crazy.

"She's a great pitcher. She basically shut us down the whole game. She's a great pitcher, but we got on top of her in the last inning. We just did what we could."

Santiago coach John Perez was in tears after the game. It was the fourth championship for the Sharks, who were selected state champions by CalHiSports.com after the game.

"She's going to Michigan," Perez said of Sweet. "That was her 15th home run and that ties the (Riverside) County record. That's her 42nd (of her career). She saved the best for the last.

"That's the greatest ballgame I've ever been involved with. That's greatest ballgame I've ever seen in high school softball ever. Have you ever seen a better game?"

Canyon, which was making its first appearance in the finals, took a 1-0 lead when freshman Taylor Swearingen went with an outside pitch and homered to right field in the top of the third.

The Comanches loaded the bases in the top of the fourth, but Swearingen popped out to end the threat.

Canyon, ranked No. 6 in the state, finished 23-8. Santiago ended with a 28-5 record.