On a senior-laden team, sometimes you need a little youth to get things going.

Freshman Ariana Angotti did just that for Steele Canyon High School’s softball team, waking up the third-seeded Cougars’ attack with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to lead her team to a 13-7 victory over No. 4 Torrey Pines in Saturday’s CIF San Diego Section Division 1 championship game at UCSD.

“It was all in my game-day preparation,” said Angotti, who finished the afternoon going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. “I started the day with a batting lesson, went back and hit in my cage at my home. I was all dialed in by the time I got here.”

After Angotti’s blast, the Cougars (21-11) exploded for 11 runs on 10 hits combined in innings five and six to claim the third title in school history. They won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.

At that time, Steele Canyon was coached by current Torrey Pines coach Julie Neubauer, who left after the 2016 season.

“If it wasn’t us, there’s no other team I would want to see win it,” said Neubauer.

Torrey Pines (17-13-1) grabbed the early 3-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second and another in the third.

That’s when Angotti got going, driving a ball over the left-center-field fence.

“I’m a power hitter and used to hitting home runs, but that was my first home run in high school,” she explained. “I was OK with that because I’ve been hitting a lot of line drives, I knew it would come.”

Despite Angotti’s heroics, the Falcons came right back to score a pair of runs in the top of the fifth on a two-run double by Reagan Cullivan.

But the Steele Canyon bats were already awake, batting around in both the fifth and sixth innings to open up the game.

“We made a few adjustments and got a bit more disciplined at the plate,” said Kevin Pearlstein, who took over coaching the Cougars when Neubauer left.

UCSB-bound junior Payton Sos and Chico State-bound senior Marina Gonzalez each chipped in with three RBI games.

“This means a lot to me because two years ago when we were here, I made the final out of the finals against Otay Ranch,” said Gonzalez, who joined most of her teammates at the Senior Prom later that night. “I tried to stretch a hit but got thrown out at second to end the game.”

Senior Ily Barclay finished 3-for-5 with a run and RBI, while freshman Avigail Hendricks went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Joining her twin sister in leading the Falcons’ attack was Riley Cullivan, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Both will be playing next year at UC Davis.