During the regular season, Canterbury did not play a team in Class 2A. Instead, the Crusaders scheduled games against teams in higher classifications, nearly all of which ended up making the playoffs.
That gave Canterbury exactly what it wanted: a challenge.
In 2A, the Crusaders area softball juggernaut, a program so clearly superior at its level that few opponents can muster a competitive game much the less the threat of victory.
Since 2013, the Crusaders have lost just six games against 2A foes. Five of them came against the eventual state champion.
So it was no wonder Canterbury, ranked No. 1 in its class for most of the season, was a heavy favorite in Tuesday’s state semifinal game against Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy.
The Crusaders took control early and kept building upon its lead to cruise to an 11-0 victory. On Wednesday, Canterbury will face Jacksonville University Christian in the 2A title game at 7:30 p.m.
If the Crusaders win, it will be their fifth state title, which already is a bay area record.
This season, Canterbury has pounded teams into submission with an offense that can be powerful — and unrelenting. The power comes from Morgen Talley, an eighth-grader that ranks third in the state in home runs (15) and 11th in RBIs (44).
Westminster Academy wanted to stop that and walked Talley three times.
No matter.
The Crusaders found other ways to inflict damage, scoring once in the first inning, then adding two more in the third and breaking the game open with eight runs in the fifth.
Alayah Pederson led the offense by going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. Irianis Garcia and Sammy Beltron each had two hits and Maya Bickford drove in two runs for Canterbury.
But it’s just about offense with the Crusaders. They can pitch and play defense, too.
Bickford, Mackenzie Bergstrom and Talley combined on a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts.
