Prep Softball: Titans to face top team in nation for Carew Classic championship

The Poway High softball team punched its ticket to the Michelle Carew Classic championship game for the first time in school history on Saturday.

Kourtney Shaw tossed a complete game, Catherine Seitz delivered a go-ahead RBI single and Colleen Sullivan’s two-run homer was the knockout blow, as the Titans defeated Canyon 4-1 in the semifinal game of the prestigious tournament.

Poway will face the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, Mission Viejo, in the title game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. You can listen to the game by clicking here.

Malia Martinez went 4-for-4 and Sullivan, a UCLA commit, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. The freshman’s two-run homer in the sixth turned a 2-1 game into a three-run lead for the Titans. It was her second home run of the tournament.

Shaw, a Cal-bound senior, worked her way around a leadoff double in the third inning, inducing a fly out and striking out two straight to keep the game knotted at 1-1. In the sixth, Canyon had the bases loaded with two out and Shaw registered her seventh strikeout of the game to preserve a 2-1 lead. Shaw had eight strikeouts in all.

Canyon came into the game ranked No. 9 in the state and No. 21 in the nation. In contrast, Poway entered ranked No. 49 in the state and No. 124 in the nation.