File photo – St. Bernard’s freshman Oni Orcutt had another big performance in her first playoff game on Wednesday.

The Little 4 champions began the North Coast Section softball playoffs with a comfortable victory on Wednesday evening.

Hosting a Division-5 showdown at Samoa, the St. Bernard’s girls took care of business with a 14-4 win over The Bay School in five innings.

The win sends the No. 6 seeds in the bracket on to the quarterfinals, where they will face No. 3 St. Vincent de Paul in Petaluma on Friday evening.

Several players stepped up for the Crusaders in Wednesday’s win, including freshman pitcher Oni Orcutt, who continues to grow in stature in the circle.

Orcutt pitched all five innings for the win and allowed just four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out three.

“Oni has been our most consistent pitcher this year and had a solid outing tonight,” St. Bernard’s head coach Brian Finck said. 

So too did another freshman.

Chloe Grunden stepped in and played right field in the playoff opener and had an “outstanding” game, according to her coach.

“She proved to be a tough out at the plate and did great defensively,” Finck said of the freshman, who finished 2-for-2 with three runs.

Emma Mowery also had a good game, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs, and is becoming more consistent at the plate as her confidence continues to grow.

Aubree Saunderson also had an impact and hit the ball hard in all four of her at-bats, finishing 2-for-4 with a run.

“She had a great night at the plate,” Finck said.

So too did fellow senior Hannah Finck, who was 2-for-2 with a run and helped set the tone on defense from behind the plate, as she has done all season long.

“Hannah is our leader behind the plate and provides the leadership that comes with being a catcher,” the head coach said.

Talented freshman Kyna Tupua also was 2-for-3 with two runs as she continues to impress in her first year playing at the varsity level.

“Kyna has grown over the season as our lead-off hitter and is a menace on the base paths,” Brian Finck said. “She gets our offense started.

“The girls played well tonight. It was a great team effort.”

File photo