Auburn softball roundup: Del Oro remains unbeaten, Placer wins sixth straight

One year removed from missing the postseason for the first time since 2013, the Del Oro High School softball team is off to its best start in years. The Golden Eagles have already surpassed last season's seven wins and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Monday afternoon, Del Oro continued its hot start to the season with a 12-0 drubbing of Casa Roble in Orangevale. It was the ninth consecutive win for the Golden Eagles to begin the season and coach Sean Erickson believes that this is no fluke. "It's really a group that's playing together. They have that common ideology and are spreading a similar message. Everything we talk about, everything they do, they're on the same page," Erickson said. "Last year's team, we didn't have that same consistency and we were disconnected many times. We are very much connected at this time." Erickson credits a large part of Del Oro's success to its Look Up to Light Up campaign in which all players turned in their smart phones for an entire month in an attempt to detox from social media and improve their mental health. He says that being disconnected from technology is a major factor to the team's cohesion. "It bound us together, tied us into a common discipline if you will," Erickson said. "It made them better teammates. It made them care about each other a little bit more. I give a lot of credit for this start directly to the cell phone detox. There's no question about it." The Golden Eagles held a 3-0 lead through three innings before blowing the game wide open with six runs in the fourth. Del Oro added three more in the seventh for some extra insurance. Abby Davidson led the way with three RBIs while Caelyn Campos, Avery Enyart, and Chloe Champas each drove home two. Ava Messina and Mikayla Flynn split the pitching duties, with Messina striking out one in three innings and Flynn sitting down six in four innings. Del Oro (9-0) is slated to open Sierra Foothill League play at home on Wednesday against a strong Whitney (5-2) team that is expected to be in the mix for the league title. Erickson said that Wednesday is a prime opportunity to set the tone and announce Del Oro's revival to the rest of the league, but he wants to take things one game at a time. Said Erickson, "We're still in the first half of the season but we are moving in the right direction. I hope we can get that first league game in. We are excited for it. We want it." Placer 20, Foresthill 0: Coming off the heels of a historic losing streak, the Hillgals have won six straight and have looked dominant doing so. Placer has won four of the last six by double digits and Monday afternoon, it dismantled Foresthill decisively. Placer scored 15 runs in the first two innings and racked up 17 hits in the victory. Emma Herr and Paige Denniston each collected four RBIs, while Ella Osborne drove home three. In the circle, Sydney Nitta struck out five in two hitless innings while Ever Wiley-Pearson sat down two in three innings while allowing two hits. Placer (6-2) is scheduled to face the Wildfires again on Wednesday before diving into Foothill Valley League play on Mar. 18 at Del Campo.