The Sutter Union Huskies softball team beat the Calaveras Redhawks 7-0 to win the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship on Saturday, May 18, at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. Photo by Chris Pedigo

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - The Sutter Union Huskies softball team conquered their first CIF Sac-Joaquin Section title as they won the Division V title in a 7-0 shutout over the Calaveras Redhawks on Saturday, May 18.

Family, bond, support and trust are a few of the multiple words to describe this 2024 Sutter softball team on top of the emotions of winning a section title.

Sutter senior pitcher Olivia Bauer (5) throws a pitch in the Huskies’ 7-0 win over Calaveras on Saturday, May 18. Photo by Steven Bryla

Huskies head coach Stefanie Danna expressed to the Dispatch postgame that words couldn’t describe how proud she was of the team.

“They came to work every day,” Danna said.

She added they competed every pitch, every play and at-bat as she laughed at yelling it multiple times throughout the game and during the season.

Sutter senior infielder Nai Garcia (7) catches a line drive for the final out as the Huskies defeated Calaveras 7-0 on Saturday, May 18. Photo by Steven Bryla

Sutter senior pitcher/Boise State signee Olivia Bauer was locked in as she stepped into the circle each inning. Calaveras was a great hitting lineup as they had a .420 batting average coming into the championship game and they came out swinging.

The Redhawks were successful in getting a lead-off single in three of the first four innings, but the resilient Huskies’ defense and Bauer consistently pounding the zone kept Calaveras grounded.

The Redhawks hit into three double plays up to Sutter’s middle infield of seniors Grace Diaz and Nai Garcia. 

Sutter senior pitcher Olivia Bauer (5) and senior catcher Morgan Heggstrom (2) hug one another on Saturday, May 18, in the 7-0 victory over Calaveras like they have for every inning this year. Photo by Chris Pedigo

Bauer appreciated her entire defense postgame and said it was amazing. 

“When I’m in the circle, I don’t have to stress because they are always there for me,” Bauer said.

The Huskies defense supported Bauer in making a lot of heads up plays, including when senior center fielder/Bethany signee Megan O’Neal in the third inning as she was backing up Garcia and Diaz as a base hit fell in the middle of them and O’Neal fired it to second for a force out.

Garcia put Sutter up 2-0 in the bottom of the third as the Northwest Nazarene University signee hit a two run-batted-in single to right field.

Calaveras fell into a hole like 19 other opponents this season against Sutter and once they get a lead, they are difficult to come back against.

Bauer allowed three base runners in the final four innings as she finished her 13th shutout of the season.

The Huskies added three more in the fourth as Bauer, Diaz and senior infielder/Sacramento State signee Alexa Carino had RBI base hits to take a 5-0 lead.

Diaz hit a two-RBI double in the fifth to extend the lead to seven for Sutter and joined Bauer and Carino as the other multi-hit players for the Huskies.

Sutter was also effective on working the pitch count of Calaveras freshman pitcher Kamryn Thornburg as they showed patience at the plate and worked late counts.

When Garcia recorded the final out, Sutter fans erupted in the stands at Cosumnes River College as the Huskies won their second section title in three years. 

Garcia told the Dispatch her thought as the out was recorded that all of her and her teammates' hard work has paid off.

Six of the nine Sutter seniors are multi-section champions and Garcia expressed to the Dispatch as this being her first one that it was special.

To show the close knit relationship these Huskies’ share, Bauer added that a lot of them have played softball throughout the time they were 8-10 years old, and although they all haven’t played together for consecutive years, their bonds have grown from knowing one another in the timeframe throughout the years.

The bond and family culture the Sutter softball program has endured for years showed why they are a family as Huskies softball alumni were right there at the end of the dugout to greet Danna and the team with love and congratulations filled with plenty of hugs and smiles.

Bauer and Garcia said this was a goal as a senior class to “go out with a bang” and the mind set against Calaveras was to be stronger than they were.

With the win, Sutter will move onto the CIF NorCal Softball playoffs that are set to begin Tuesday, May 28, following the conclusion of the remaining Section finals.

Bauer and Garcia told the Dispatch they are going to keep the grind going as a team.