POWAYPOWAY — Late in the game, with a whole season of dreams on the line, Poway High School catcher Sophia Burmeister strode the plate in a tie game.
She had already erased Carlsbad’s only lead in the first inning.
For the second time, Burmeister’s bat proved deadly.
Her second home run of the game, a three-run blast to the cement wall triangle beyond the outfield fence, snapped a 2-2 tie and helped the No. 1-seeded Titans to a 5-3 win over No. 5 Carlsbad on Tuesday.
By winning its 14th consecutive game, Poway (27-3) advanced to the San Diego Section Open Division championship game Saturday at 7 p.m. at UC San Diego.
It marks back-to-back finals for Poway, which dropped last year’s Division II finals to Granite Hills.
“We want to be Open Division champions,” Burmeister said. “We worked really hard to show people who the real Poway Titans are.”
Thanks to Burmeister.
Burmeister launched her seventh home run of the season on a 1-1 pitch from pitcher Abby Huhn in the first inning, with Carlsbad (19-8) holding a 1-0 lead,
The ball sailed over the outfield fence, over the cement wall and over a big tree into a backyard for a 2-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, Burmeister punched Poway’s ticket to the finals on a 3-2 pitch from Huhn.
That shot went even further than the first one for her eighth homer.
“It was outside and I only swing at outside pitches if I have to,” Burmeister said. “I just tried to put on the ball with two runners on.
“It felt better than the first one because it gave us a good lead to get to the championship game.”
Carlsbad scored a first-inning run on Tiara Hill’s sacrifice fly and a solo run in the second on Josie Waite’s first homer of the season, tying the game at 2-2.
After Burmeister’s shot to center in the fifth, the Lancers got a solo homer from Emma Tolley in the sixth inning.
Poway starter Mya McGowan retired the Lancers in the seventh inning to improve her record to 16-1 and put her team into the finals.
“Mya had to grind it out all day long,” Burmeister said. “Honestly, I want to go play the finals right now.’’
After losing a 2-1 decision to Carlsbad in Palomar League play, the Titans downed the Lancers 7-4 in league play and 4-1 on May 18. That 2-1 loss was Poway’s last setback.
“The kids earned this one through a (5-24) season in 2021 and losing last year’s Division II finals,” Poway coach Jim Bennet said.
McGowan allowed six hits, walked none and struck out seven.
“The last time we went to back-to-back finals was Division I and Open finals in ’15 and ’16,” Bennet said.
Poway will face rival Rancho Bernardo, a 5-4 winner over El Capitan on Tuesday, in this year’s final.
Bennet said McGowan will start in the circle and Burmeister’s bat will definitely be in the lineup as well.
