CIF Playoff matchups announced for softball, baseball

CIF kicks off with round one this week. Where do our Yellowjackets find themselves placed?

Jeremiah Dollins, Pepper Bough Advisor • May 13, 2025

Softball dominated the regular season, winning a league title; now they will face off against Sultana High on Thursday, May 15 in round one of the CIF division 4 playoffs.

Colton, CA—On Monday, CIF Southern Section announced the playoff divisions and brackets for both baseball and softball. Both Yellowjacket squads qualified for this year’s playoffs, which begin on May 15 and continue through the divisional championship game on May 31.

Softball

Andrea Varela has led the Yellowjackets potent offense all year.

The Yellowjackets will play the Sultana High Sultans on May 15 at 3:15 p.m. at Sultana High School in Hesperia.

Softball, who just completed a dominant season, taking first place in the San Andreas league with a record of 8-0 (23-4 overall), qualified for play in CIF-SS division four. They will be playing Sultana High School, the first place team in the Mojave River league with a record of 9-1 (19-7 overall). The Sultans are led by Senior Avery Rodriguez, who led the team with a .602 batting average, 50 hits and 10 home runs. On the mound, senior Savannah Vanderpool was their most dominant pitcher, going 17-4 with an ERA of 3.14. She is a strikeout machine, striking out 177 in 116 innings pitched.

For the Yellowjackets, they bring a balanced attack on offense, with sophomore Andrea Varela leading the team with a .520 batting average. Three other players—Maleah Juarez, Stephanie De La Cruz and Natalie Caldera—are all batting .500 or better on the season. The pitching duo of Varela (12-3, 2.26 ERA) and senior Jasmine De La Rosa (10-1, 3.00 ERA) has been a dominant force all season, backed by a stingy defense that only gives up 3.5 runs per game.

Baseball

Jesse Ruiz has been getting it done on both sides of the ball in his senior year. (Oscar Maldonado)

The Yellowjackets finished the season second place in the San Andreas league with a record of 6-6 (10-16 overall), qualifying for division 8 in the CIF-SS playoff bracket. This puts them at the top of the division, earning a first-round bye. Their first game will be against either University Prep (4th place Cross Valley league; 4-4, 11-9) or Bolsa Grande High School (1st place Orange league; 10-2, 15-6).

While Colton is not a power team, with zero home runs and a team slugging percentage of .283, they excel at getting on base. The offense is led by senior Jesse Ruiz with a batting average of .312 and an OPS of .764. Freshman Andres Hernandez is not far behind, having had a standout rookie season, averaging .283 with an OPS of .741.

On the mound, Jesse Ruiz stands out as a two-way player. While his win-loss record is 2-6 on the year, his ERA is 2.62 and he leads the team with 51 strikeouts against 20 walks.

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About the Contributor

Jeremiah Dollins, Adviser

Jeremiah Dollins is in his third year as adviser for the award-winning Pepper Bough, Colton High School’s official source of news and entertainment. This is his 24th year in education, where he has taught students in grades 7-12 everything from English to Film Studies. His passions include writing and talking about movies, graphic design, and photography. For the Pepper Bough, he frequently contributes sports reporting, film reviews, and other odds-and-ends as he works with students to support their emergence as the next generation of journalists.