Scotties Dominate Playoffs to End Championship Drought

On a warm May evening at Helix Charter High School, sophomore pitcher Lea Moya took the mound against Mission Vista with one mission: keep the Scotties’ championship dreams alive. The game on May 26 was elimination softball at its finest—a second meeting with the Patriots in just four days, and Helix needed a win to stay alive in the CIF San Diego Section Division III playoffs.

Moya delivered. The sophomore with a microscopic 0.44 ERA and 62 strikeouts on the season was nearly unhittable, leading Helix to a commanding 7-1 victory. The Scotties pounded out hits, executed clean defense, and showed the poise of a team destined for bigger things. Four days earlier, Helix had demolished the same Mission Vista squad 11-0. This time, facing a desperate opponent and higher stakes, they were even sharper.

It was the kind of performance that would define a season.

Two days later, on May 28 at San Diego State University, Helix finished what those two Mission Vista victories had started. Facing top-seeded Brawley Union, the Scotties claimed their first-ever CIF championship with a 6-2 triumph. Moya—who would earn her 10th victory of the season—tossed another complete game, a four-hitter, as Helix’s bats provided all the run support she needed.

The championship banner now hangs in the Helix gymnasium, a tangible end to a long wait. For a program that had never reached the CIF title game before 2026, and for players who came close only to fall short, the 24-4 record and Division III championship represented something larger: proof that consistency, discipline, and depth could overcome any playoff moment.

The Long Road to May 26

Helix didn’t arrive at that Mission Vista game on May 26 by accident. The Scotties had spent the entire season building something special under coach Molly Sturdivant, and their league dominance set the stage for what would come.

As co-champions of the Grossmont Valley League alongside strong competition, Helix entered the CIF San Diego Section Division III playoffs as the No. 2 seed. That seeding meant they would avoid the top seed—Brawley—until the championship game, but it also meant they had room for no margin of error.

The playoffs began poorly. On May 12, Helix suffered a loss to Grossmont, 5-4, in what may have been a crucial wake-up call. It was the kind of game that could have derailed a season. Instead, the Scotties responded with the kind of offensive explosion that would become their trademark.

Two days later, on May 14, Helix faced Mount Miguel in their first official playoff game. The Scotties were merciless. They dismantled the Matadors 16-0, an overwhelming statement of intent. It was dominant, but it was also clinical—the kind of performance that doesn’t always look as impressive in the final score as it feels in the moment, because opponents simply couldn’t keep pace.

On May 20, Helix traveled to face Ramona in a quarterfinal matchup. This was when playoff softball demanded something different—not firepower, but resilience. The Bulldogs brought everything Helix had, and the Scotties won a grinding, low-scoring affair, 2-1. It was the kind of game that builds championship teams: a close call, a mistake averted, a chance converted.

Then came the Mission Vista games.

The Mission Vista Moment

On May 22, Helix opened their semifinal matchup against Mission Vista with a statement. An 11-0 shutout. It was dominant enough to end the series right there—or so it seemed. But in best-of-three playoff format, one win wasn’t enough. Helix had to return, and on May 26, they did.

That’s when your photographs captured the moment. Mission Vista, desperate and fighting for survival, came to Helix’s field with everything on the line. The Patriots mounted more of a fight in the second meeting, scoring once against Moya. But Helix’s offense was the story. Seven runs on solid, clean hitting. The defense was sharp. The baserunning was smart.

Helix won 7-1, and with it, advanced to the championship game as the No. 2 seed awaiting the result of the other semifinal—which Brawley, the top seed, would claim.

The Championship

May 28. SDSU. Division III championship game.

Helix came in as the underdog against No. 1 Brawley (19-11), a program with a storied playoff history. This was Brawley’s fourth trip to a CIF championship game. But Helix had something Brawley didn’t on that day: momentum, confidence, and a pitcher playing the best softball of her life.

Moya was perfect. A complete-game four-hitter—the kind of performance that appears in highlight reels and gets replayed for years. But the real story was that Helix’s bats gave her a 1-0 lead in the first inning and never gave it back.

The Scotties added two more runs in the third inning to extend the lead to 3-0. Brawley scraped together a run in the third to cut it to 3-1, but Helix answered with one in the fifth and two more in the seventh for the final margin: 6-2.

When the final out was recorded, Helix had what no previous Lady Scotties team had ever claimed: a CIF championship banner.

Beyond the Section

The championship was the destination most programs dream of, but for Helix, it was also a launching point. As Division III champions, the Scotties earned a spot in the Southern California regional playoffs—a tier above section play where teams from across the state compete.

On June 2, Helix faced seventh-seeded Covina in the quarterfinals of the SoCal regional. The Scotties didn’t slow down. They dismantled Covina 14-7, showing that their championship-level play wasn’t a one-tournament phenomenon.

Helix’s season eventually ended in the regional playoffs, but the imprint they left on San Diego softball was indelible. A 24-4 record. A first-ever championship banner. Lea Moya’s elite pitching. Sophomore catcher Nikayiah Domingo’s aggressive bat and leadership. Freshman third baseman Naleia Medina’s poise.

The Scotties had arrived. And on May 26, in that game against Mission Vista where your camera was there to capture it, they showed the world exactly how good they could be.

Final 2026 Playoff Results:

• May 12: Loss to Grossmont, 5-4
• May 14: W vs Mount Miguel, 16-0
• May 20: W vs Ramona, 2-1
• May 22: W vs Mission Vista, 11-0
• May 26: W vs Mission Vista, 7-1
• May 28: W vs Brawley (Championship), 6-2
• June 2: W vs Covina (SoCal Regional), 14-7

Final Record: 24-4