Who's next?

That's all the Port Of Los Angeles High softball team could think about after yet another dominant CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division III playoff victory at the San Pedro Girls Softball Association Field.

By virtue of their 15-0, six-inning pounding of fourth-seeded Valley Academy Arts & Sciences of Granada Hills in the Division III semifinals, the top-seeded Polar Bears have a chance to end an already stellar 2013 season with a third straight City Section championship. An electrifying hitting attack combined with another superb outing in the circle from sophomore pitcher Nicolle Miranda was too much for the Vipers to handle.

After the game ended and the teams shook hands, the POLA players and coaches posed for pictures and did a mock locker room-style championship celebration with sparkling apple cider. Who knows what could happen if the Polar Bears were to win it all again on Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills?

All the butterflies, if there were any, were quickly squashed with a five-run first inning for POLA (27-8 overall).

The Polar Bears scored five runs without even getting out, as they quickly loaded the bases on junior center fielder Sarah Maldonado's bunt single, a strong single from Miranda, and a walk drawn by junior first baseman Allison Bayer. Sophomore second baseman Rosemary Garcia would drill a triple to right-center field to wipe the bases clean, and finally sophomore third baseman Savana Ramirez stroked a single to drive Garcia home.

Ramirez then went all the way around to score after an error by Valley Academy center fielder Stephanie Lopez for the 5-0 POLA advantage, and the Polar Bears would score two runs each in the remaining five innings.

Miranda was on top of her game, working out of her only jam in the fourth with runners on first and second by striking out the side, finishing with a three-hitter and 12 strikeouts, walking none. Miranda got one huge play on defense in the top of the second inning from senior catcher Brianna Grayson, as she somehow fought off a tricky pop up and caught the ball from her knees before falling hard and hitting home plate with a thud.

While Miranda took care of business in the circle, Bayer, Garcia and junior shortstop Kelsea Short would light up the Vipers (12-5) with their explosive bats.

In the bottom of the second inning, the first two batters were retired, but then Bayer blasted a solo home run to squelch any hopes of Valley Academy coming back into the game. Garcia then singled, and Short drove her home with a double after Ramirez extended the inning by reaching first base off an error.

More of the same came in the bottom of the third when Bayer drove home Maldonado with a double to push POLA's lead up to 9-0. Grayson's ground out earlier in the inning plated sophomore left fielder Tiffany Torres.

Short's towering two-run home run made it 11-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, then Bayer and Garcia smacked back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches in the bottom of the fifth to make it 13-0 in the Polar Bears' favor and all that was left was the final blow.

Sophomore pinch-hitter Tiffany Mercado's blast to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning would have been a double anywhere else but she turned it into an exciting two-run, walk-off inside the park home run for the final exclamation point on the final home game of the 2013 season. Mercado's blast was her second straight pinch-hit home run in her last two at-bats, also homering against South Region No.9 in the quarterfinals last Thursday.

Bayer finished 3-for-3 at the plate with the two home runs, a double, 3 RBIs and three runs scored to pace POLA. Garcia went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple, 4 RBIs and three runs. Short went 2-for-2 with her home run, double, 3 RBIs and scoring once. POLA in all had 14 hits, eight of which went for extra bases.

That should provide POLA more than enough confidence in Saturday's Division III championship game against second-seeded Northridge Academy, a 3-0 winner over third-seeded Harbor Teacher Prep of Wilmington, which will take place 11am at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson. The Pumas carry an undefeated 20-0 record and are thirsting for payback from their 2-0 loss to the Polar Bears two years ago that provided POLA its first City Section title in any sport.

Get ready for a showdown that will be historic no matter who comes out on top... but expect POLA to be ready for this latest challenge that stands in front of them.

After Saturday, then they won't have to ask 'Who's Next?' any longer.