Northwood softball overpowers Grace to capture first CIF-SS title

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IRVINE — Natalie Keith took her position at shortstop Saturday morning ready to help Northwood’s softball team claim its first CIF-SS title. Her first chance to contribute arrived on the very first batter.

Grace Maguire from Grace of Simi Valley, one of Keith’s teammates on the Batbusters travel team, flared a ball into shallow left field that looked headed for a safe landing.

Keith had other plans. The senior raced to make an over-the-shoulder grab and set the pace for the Timberwolves in their first section final.

Northwood showcased its mastery of the fundamentals by playing errorless defense behind freshman pitcher Olivia Chen and scored eight runs in the fifth inning to defeat Grace 11-1 in the Division 5 final at Deanna Manning Stadium.

Chen punctuated a two-hitter with a strikeout for the final out. She calmly embraced senior catcher Marissa Lee in the celebration.

“I know it seemed underwhelming — the celebration — but I was really happy inside and proud of myself and the whole team,” Chen said. “It’s a special group of girls … (and) it’s really cool that we have Natalie because she’s DI. And Marissa, too. They’re really talented girls, especially Kat (Katerinna Rizos), too.”

Keith, who signed with Arizona, threw out a runner at first base in the second from deep in the hole at shortstop. Two batters later, she hustled to catch a foul ball down the left field line.

Fourth-year Northwood coach Maddy Grimm didn’t miss the significance of the first putout.

“That was huge,” said Grimm, who plays infield professionally for the Atlanta Smoke. “Nat is very talented. She has all of the instincts that can’t be taught. You either have it or you don’t. She’s been a joy to watch play for the last four years.”

Keith ignited the offense for No. 2-seeded Northwood (15-7-1) with a run-scoring double in the fourth to tie the score 1-1.

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Kiana Park followed later in the fourth with an two-out infield single to make it 2-1.

Then came the fifth inning. Northwood sent 13 batters to the plate and delivered seven of its 11 hits against Grace (16-11).

Kaylee Jones, a sophomore center fielder who batted ninth, helped spark the outburst with her second bunt single. Northwood eventually loaded the bases for Rizos, who drove in three runs with a double.

Chen then doubled over the center fielder’s head to extend the lead to 6-1.

Northwood showed its unity and depth as pinch-hitter Ally Kraeber delivered an RBI single with the bases loaded. Jones added a two-run double to finish 3 for 3 with two RBIs.

“We came in with a chip on our shoulder,” Grimm said. “I think we’re a little better than Division 5, so I’m really glad that we showed up and competed like this. But we lost games that we shouldn’t have in-season.”

It was the kind of performance Keith wanted for Northwood, which missed the playoffs last season.

As a junior, she teamed with Lee and left fielder Jessie Wendt to lead the Timberwolves’ girls flag football team to a CIF-SS Division 2 title. Keith played quarterback and safety.

Her older brother Nicholas played football and baseball for Northwood and her younger brother Alex will be a freshman at the school in the fall. Her father Eric is the principal.

“(Northwood athletics is) on the rise and having two championships promotes women’s sports and I love it,” she said. “Being able to kind of lift up this (softball) team … is what I’ve taken pride in.”

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