POWAY – Santana softball coach Mike Bass knew even before the first pitch of yesterday's section Division III championship that his Sultans had put last year's title game defeat behind them.

“I was confident just coming out,” he said, “and watching them during warm-ups. This is a real special group of kids, and they expect to win.”

Santana (31-2) turned expectation into reality in the bottom of the first inning, jumping on Brawley with five runs on four hits before cruising to an 11-1 blowout at Sportsplex USA.

Senior third baseman Kelsey McIlone (2-for-4) doubled home junior Amanda Carpenter and senior Brittany Fenn in the first inning to get the Sultans offense off and running, staking senior pitcher Britty Balough to a 5-0 lead.

“There was so much pressure,” McIlone said, “and we were all nervous, but we've done this all year. That's what we've been practicing – getting runners on and driving them in.”

The five-run cushion was more than enough for Balough, who said she had redemption on her mind after last year's championship loss to Steele Canyon.

“I was 100 times more motivated,” Balough said. “I wanted to get out there and show that we could win and that we weren't going to do what we did last year.”

Balough shut down Brawley on three hits through seven innings. Freshman center fielder Meagan Salcido drove in the Wildcats' lone run with an RBI double in the third inning.

“(The lead) didn't change my entire mental game,” Balough said, “but I felt like I could give up a couple hits and it would still be OK. I tried to keep throwing like it was zero-zero.”

Leading 5-1, the Sultans put the game out of reach with a six-run uprising in the bottom of the sixth inning. Twelve Santana hitters came to the plate, and Balough capped the rally with a bases-loaded triple.

“When we were hitting, I knew it was over,” Balough said.

Zach Jones: (760) 752-6751; zach.jones@tlnews.net