The Orcutt Academy and Pioneer Valley softball squads will each go after a CIF Central Section divisional title for the second time in three years.

Top-seeded Orcutt Academy will face No. 2 Dos Palos Thursday at 4:30 p.m. for the Division 5 championship. At press time, No. 7 Pioneer Valley was to play either No. 1 Wasco or No. 5 Madera Liberty Friday at 7 p.m. for the Division 5 crown.

All softball divisional championship games will take place on Maggie Wright Diamond at Fresno State.

Pioneer Valley won at higher seeds twice to get to the Division 3 title game for the second straight time under veteran coach Kristina Sewell. The Panthers won 10-3 at No. 2 Fowler in the quarterfinals last Tuesday and 1-0 in nine innings at No. 3 Kerman last Thursday.

The Panthers will try to garner the Division 3 championship this time after losing to Mission Prep 11-2 in the 2024 Division 3 title game.

Senior right-handed pitcher Ciena Acosta helped lead the Panthers to the 2025 Sunset League championship. Acosta notched her 700th career strikeout in the sixth inning of Pioneer Valley’s semifinal win.

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Orcutt Academy (14-11-1) will go up against a solid Dos Palos team (19-8-1) that shared the West Sierra League championship with Coalinga. Orcutt Academy finished tied for third in the Sunset League.

Senior Breann Raney leads Dos Palos. Raney leads the Broncos in hitting at .500. As a pitcher, Raney is 16-8 with a 1.97 ERA.\

Orcutt Academy will also likely have to deal with Liliana DelaRosa. DelaRosa is batting .457 for Dos Palos.

The Spartans have two good pitchers, Valerie Gonzales and Lylah Garcia. Gonzales pitched the first six innings, and Garcia worked the seventh as Orcutt Academy edged No. 4 Fresno Hoover 1-0 at Lakeview Junior High School to make it to the semifinals.

Lead-off batter Iris Villa has been a leading hitter for the Spartans this year. Villa led off the bottom of the fifth inning of the semifinals with a triple then scored the only run of the game on a wild pitch.