With league, section and regional competitions completed, there was only one item left on the 2026 high school softball schedule to check off: the annual San Diego Section all-star game.
That took place June 9 at San Diego State University, the site of two divisional finals this spring (Division V-AA won by Borrego Springs and Division III captured by Helix Charter).
The season-ending marquee event featured a pregame home run derby and a nine-inning East versus West all-star game spotlighting the top players from throughout the section.
West Hills senior Katy Spargo, the Santee school’s all-time leader in home runs, RBI and hits, won the home run hitting contest by out-scoring Mater Dei Catholic senior Gigi Flores 9-6.
Spargo batted 0.467 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI in 25 games this season. She led the Lady Wolf Pack with 35 hits, 30 runs scored, 0.540 on-base percentage, 1.053 slugging percentage and a 0.990 fielding percentage. She ranked second on the team with six doubles.
West Hills finished the season 2-6 in Grossmont Hills League play, 10-17 overall after dropping a 12-2 decision to No. 5 Cathedral Catholic as the No. 12 seed in the play-in round of the Division I playoffs.
The Lady Wolf Pack posted a runner-up finish in last year’s Division II CIF finals. Spargo batted 0.534 with 41 RBI to lead the team to a 20-10-1 record.
Steele Canyon and Santana shared this year’s Grossmont Hills League title.
Flores hit 0.385 with six home runs, 30 RBI and12 doubles for Mater Dei Catholic (31-3). The Lady Crusaders were the section’s dominant team with a trifecta: league title (Metro-Mesa League), section title (Open Division) and regional championship (Division I).
Spargo and Flores were joined by Southwest El Centro Southwest’s Kaydence Wiewel and Bonita Vista’s Kianna Balajadia- Brooks in the home run-hitting derby. Wiewel hit 14 home runs during the season for the Lady Eagles (14-11-1).
Each roster featured 24 players for a total of 48 participants. Steele Canyon senior Ily Barclay was among the featured East County players in the game suiting up for the East squad.
All-section teams were subsequently announced.
Locals earning honors included Barclay and Spargo on the All-CIF First Team and El Capitan’s Addison Higuera and Helix Charter’s Nakaylah Domingo on the All-CIF Second Team.
Steele Canyon’s Kevin Pearlstein earned CIF Coach of the Year honors after the Lady Cougars captured this year’s Division I section championship title.
Barclay hit 0.500 in 30 games with 49 hits, 32 runs scored, 28 stolen bases, a 0.592 on-base percentage and 0.684 slugging percentage,
Higuera batted 0.440 with five home runs, 21 RBI, 23 runs scored, 0.462 on-base percentage and 0.680 slugging percentage for the Lady Vaqueros (15- 15).
Domingo hit 0.462 in 26 games with three home runs, 15 stolen bases, 34 runs scored, 36 hits, 29 RBI, 0.808 slugging percentage and four triples for the Lady Scotties (26-5).
State of mind
Helix, Grossmont (Division IV section runner-up) and El Capitan (Division II section semifinalist) all qualified for the Southern California regional playoffs.
El Capitan received the No. 7 seed in the Division II bracket and lost, 9-4, to No. 2 Temecula Great Oak in the opening round.
Helix received the No. 2 seed in Division III and advanced to the championship game on the strength of a 14-7 win over No. 7 Covina in first round and a 6-3 victory against No. 3 Grace in the semifinals.
However. The Lady Highlanders’ march was halted in an 8-4 setback to No. 4 Hanford West, which instead claimed the regional title.
Grossmont, the No. 5 seed in the Division IV bracket, also advanced to the championship round. The Lady Foothillers (20- 12-1) upset No. 4 Arroyo, 7-4, in the opening round and then avenged a lopsided championship game loss in the section finals with a 15-3 shellacking of No. 1 Madison in the semifinals.
Grossmont ended its season with a 14-4 loss to No. 2 Woodlake in the division championship game.
