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Mission Viejo softball gets a lift past Burroughs from middle of the lineup

May 24, 2026

MISSION VIEJO — What a difference a few days can make.

When Mission Viejo’s softball team scored 14 runs in its quarterfinal victory in the CIF-SS playoffs, Bailey McNeal and Kylee Jepson did not contribute much to the outcome. The fourth and fifth hitters in the Diablos’ lineup were told emphatically by their coach that they could not be nonfactors again in the semifinals against Burroughs of Burbank.

And they weren’t.

McNeal and Jepson were at the heart of Mission Viejo’s 5-3 victory over Burroughs in the Division 4 matchup Saturday.

McNeal, a senior catcher batting cleanup, had two hits — one of them an RBI double — and scored two runs.

Jepson, a junior first baseman batting behind McNeal, had two hits, including a two-run double, and scored a run.

Their respective roles in a four-run first inning helped Mission Viejo (17-15) reach a CIF-SS championship game for the first time since winning its third title in 2022.

Burroughs, still seeking its first section title, finished 17-14.

For Mission Viejo coach Clint Watson, it was a case of message sent, message received as the Diablos took a big lead early and held on behind sophomore pitcher Taylor Billings, who gave up three unearned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out two.

“They didn’t have the best of games in our quarterfinal,” Watson said of McNeal and Jepson. “I let them know that if we put up 14 (runs), ‘could you imagine if you two contributed in some way?’ I challenged them all week, in practice I brought their names up. Today I told them, you guys are driving the bus, tell us which way you want us to go.”

They want to go north a few miles, to Col. Bill Barber Park in Irvine, where they will play Oxnard in the Division 4 championship game. Oxnard defeated Monrovia, 1-0, in the other semifinal Saturday.

“I told myself I have to get better for this game,” said McNeal, who is one of two senior starters on the team. “Every game could be my last, and I didn’t want this to be my last game.”

Third baseman Brooke Neal’s defensive gem in the fourth inning with a runner at second base prevented a run from scoring.

After getting through the fourth, Billings retired nine of the next 10 batters.

“Taylor was on fire, hitting her spots,” McNeal said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Burroughs scored three runs in the third inning. An error was followed by Haven Vickers’ RBI single and sophomore Kalani Miramontes’ two-run homer.

Mission Viejo responded to the Burroughs rally with another run in the bottom of the third inning. McNeal was safe on a fielder’s choice, Jepson delivered a single, Bailey Masaitis singled to load the bases, then Dallas Watts hit a sacrifice fly that scored McNeal.

The biggest steps toward victory were made in the first.

Neale singled, Riley Campbell singled, McNeal drove in a run with a double, Jepson drove in two runs with a double, and after an error, Jepson scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Watts.

“I always tell them that big players want the ball in big-time moments,” Watson said, “and they wanted the ball today.”

Now they’re going to get the ball one more time.

Orange County Register

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Mission Viejo softball gets a lift past Burroughs from middle of the lineup

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