SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS / DIVISION III : La Serna Trips Savanna, 2-1, to Advance

ANAHEIM —  Jackie DeBoard pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts and Leslie Jacobsen had three hits and drove in a run to lead second-seeded Whittier La Serna to a 2-1 victory over Savanna in a Division III semifinal softball game at Loara High.

La Serna (26-2-1) will play Upland in the Division III final Saturday at Mayfair Park.

Savanna (19-8) scored in the first inning, when Chrissy Vega led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second by April Olsen and scored on a two-out single to right by Cara Hatt.

“We came into the game with nothing to lose,” Rebel Coach Rene Remigio said. “I think the pressure was more on them than on us.”

The Lancers took the lead in the second. Heather Stuart tied the score, 1-1, when she advanced to third on Heather Stuart’s single and scored when the ball was mishandled by the Savanna left fielder, one of three errors on the day for the Rebels. Stuart then scored on Jacobsen’s single to center.

“Our defense has been very strong all year long. This was the first time all season that our defense let us down,” Remigio said of his team’s miscues. “We worked so hard all year. It hurts.”

After giving up the single by Hatt, DeBoard (26-2-1) shut the door on the Rebel offense, retiring 18 of the final 22 batters she faced.

“This was the first time in the playoffs that we were scored upon,” Lancer Coach Ginger Mendez said. “But they kept their composure and came through.”

The closest Savanna came to tying the score was in the fourth when Sandra Mulder had a two-out infield single, went to second on a throwing error, but was stranded there when Hatt grounded out back to DeBoard to end the inning.

“We have a lot to be proud of,” Remigio said. “Nobody expected us to get this far and they can hold their heads up high at what they achieved.”