Notre Dame-Half Moon Bay softball

Central Coast Section Division III finals
Saturday's game
No. 5 Notre Dame (19-8) vs. No. 2 Half Moon Bay (22-4) at PAL Stadium, San Jose, 10 a.m.
 Never doubt a defending section champion. A reigning three-time section champion. A record 15-time section champion.
 No doubt the road to the finals this spring has had barriers as the Spirits have knocked off two higher seeded teams to get here, including top seed Hillsdale on Wednesday.
 Now comes No. 2 Half Moon Bay, a rematch of the 2013 title game in which Notre Dame posted a 14-1 win.
 The Cougars appear back on track after suffering a three-game losing streak following an 18-1 start to the regular season, beating Saratoga and Notre Dame-Belmont in the postseason.
 As a team, Half Moon Bay hit 12 homers, including three from Abbey Donovan, who hit .425 on the season. Grace Garcia was 18-2 with an 0.90 earned run average, striking out 156 in 122 innings.
 The Spirits bats have punched out three aces in three playoff games, producing 24 runs behind Aly Gomonet, Lauren Pullara and Spencer Hyosaka.
 As a team, Notre Dame has 55 extra base hits this year.
 Sophomore Vanessa Gonzalez has 18 wins in the circle with a 1.72 earned run average for Notre Dame, recording 185 strikeouts in 167 innings.
 The Spirits have won 12 straight playoff games. During that span, they have outscored opponents 106-22.