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Sports

SOFTBALL: Bowie's 17 Strikeouts Spark Notre Dame

St. Mary's-bound senior hurls one-hitter to top Harker; Tigers to meet Soquel in quarterfinals.

Jiana Bowie pitched a one-hitter and Lauren Henry starred at the plate to lead Notre Dame High to a 4-0 win over visiting Harker on Wednesday in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Division III softball playoffs.

The fifth-seeded Tigers will face No. 4 seed Soquel on Saturday in the quarterfinals at the Salinas Sports Complex at 10:15 a.m.

Bowie (8-4) had another impressive game, striking out 17 Harker batters against just two walks. The only hit she allowed was a first-inning single to Tracey Chan.

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“She has good speed, good movement, she has a killer curveball that definitely keeps the batters on their toes,” Notre Dame coach Carli Leary said, adding that Bowie, a San Carlos resident, will pitch for St. Mary's next season.

Harker starter Alison Rugar was a tough-luck loser, striking out 11 and walking none, while allowing nine hits. The Eagles made five errors behind her, keying the Tigers' rallies.

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Henry, who lives in Foster City, led the Tiger offense with a 3-for-3 showing. Izzy Geronimo of San Mateo and Beth Holden (San Carlos) each had two hits for Notre Dame (17-11-1).

Saturday's game will be a good litmus test for the Tigers. First-year coach Leary said she and her staff came into the season blind, but quickly figured out that her team had potential.

“After the first week we saw we had a solid group of girls with a lot of talent,” she said.

Soquel was a 12-2 winner over Castilleja on Wednesday and is now 22-4 on the season.

“We haven't seen them at all this year,” Leary said. “Some of the girls know girls on the team through their ASA team. We know they're a good team with some great hitters on their team.

“It's not going to be easy by any means on Saturday. (The Tigers are) going to have to come out and get their bats going. We're excited to see what happens.”

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