Granada Hills softball flexes power against San Pedro to reach City Open final

GRANADA HILLS — Junior utility Gianna Evangelista stepped into a pitch and swung with every inch of her 5-foot-4 frame for Granada Hills’ softball team with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

Evangelista knew she made solid contact but wasn’t sure how far the ball was going to carry against San Pedro during the CIF LA City Open Division semifinals.

Evangelista sprinted and the ball kept traveling until it dropped over the head of center fielder Dahlia Davila — an approximate 230-foot shot that became the catalyst of Granada Hills’ offensive outburst Wednesday.

The hit became an inside-the-park grand slam and Evangelista scored two runs in the game to beat San Pedro 12-9 and help Granada Hills advance to the Open Division finals for the seventh time in eight years.

“Going into my first two at-bats I had to put bunts down,” Evangelista said. “This whole week we’ve been emphasizing passing the baton. Really, that whole at-bat I was just trying to put the ball in play and get it the next teammate up.”

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Granada Hills (19-10-1) will play Carson for the Open Division title at Legacy High School in South Gate at 6:30 p.m. Friday. It will be the fourth straight season the two teams have met in the Open final.

Carson defeated Birmingham 12-2 in the other semifinal Wednesday.

The hitting display by Granada Hills came five day after it avoided an upset loss to No. 8 seed Kennedy.

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Granada Hills, the defending Open Division champs, scored all 12 runs in the first four innings, capped by Evangelista’s grand slam.

The approaches were selective, yet aggressive. Senior first baseman and Cal Baptist signee Elysse Diaz singled to start the afternoon and Granada Hills would have its leadoff hitter reach base in each of the first four innings.

Granada Hills senior shortstop Zoe Justman added an inside-the-park solo home run in the fourth inning. Justman, who has signed with UC Santa Barbara, has a team-high .538 batting average and eight home runs after Wednesday’s game.

“These last five days we were just trying to come in more locked in after Kennedy,” Justman said. “We just needed to come in with more intent. Instead of swinging at five balls, we were swinging for power. Doing the little things to get the work in and another thing was our mindset. Staying loud throughout the game and having that energy.”

Third baseman Sophia Gonzalez and designated player Daisha Vizcarra hit a pair of sacrifice flies to bring in Justman and Diaz in the first inning.

Granada Hills is attempting to repeat for the first time since it won back-to-back City titles in 1980 and 1981.