Denair’s bats have come to life in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 7 softball playoffs, propelling the Coyotes into the championship game Saturday against Foresthill.
Denair (14-9) – seeded second in the eight-team bracket – defeated No. 7 Elliot Christian of Lodi 20-10 and then knocked off No. 5 Vacaville Christian 13-3 to reach the final game. Top-seeded Foresthill (10-5) also cruised into the championship game with dominating wins – 16-6 over Esparto and 19-17 over Valley Christian of Roseville.
The championship game is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Modesto Junior College West campus.
Despite the lopsided final score, Denair’s first game against Elliot Christian was tied 10-10 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. That’s when the Coyotes exploded for 10 runs – turning a tight contest into a runaway that was called because of the mercy rule.
Six Denair players drove in at least two runs, led by Makayla Dayton with three RBIs and two hits. Braelyn Marroquin went 4-for-5 and knocked in two runs, Daisy Rosas had three hits and two RBIs, and Cloey Ellard, Aaliyah Rodriguez and Kenzie Prine also drove in two runs.
Denair had 17 hits in the game compared to seven by Elliot Christian, but the Coyotes made five errors on defense that kept their opponents close.
In the win over Vacaville Christian, nine-place hitter Havyn Boucher went 4-for-5, scored three times and knocked in three runs for Denair. Marroquin also had two RBIs for the Coyotes, who took advantage of seven Vacaville Christian errors.
Makayla Dayton pitched all six innings, allowing seven hits and striking out four.
The run to the Section finals caps a remarkable turnaround for Denair that began last year with coaches Andy Dayton and Chad Boucher taking over. After not winning more than three games in a season for 17 years, the Coyotes went 8-12 in 2024 and then finished fourth in the very competitive Southern League this season. The three teams ahead of the Coyotes in the standings – Le Grand, Mariposa and Stone Ridge Christian – all made the Division 6 playoffs.
