The Bear River High softball team is just two wins away from a second straight Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship.

The Bruins (27-2) will meet a familiar foe in today’s semifinal at Arnaiz Stadium in Stockton when they face East Union of Manteca. The two teams met in last year’s semifinal with the Lnacers winning. Bear River came back to beat East Union twice for its first section championship.

The Bruins blanked Sierra 6-0 to open the playoffs on Wednesday. In the nightcap, Bear River edged Capital Valley Conference champion Rio Linda 1-0.

East Union also had a pair of shutouts to open the playoffs, beating Foothill 5-0 and Whitney 2-0.

The Lancers (25-4) rely on senior Erin Arevalo in the pitcher’s circle. She sports an ERA of just 0.135 and has 462 strikeouts in 207 innings pitched this season.

Arevalo is also a major contributor at the plate, along with freshman Cassie Waggy.

Bear River will turn to senior Kelly Shepard for its pitching duties. Shepard is also a force for a balanced offense led by sophomore leadoff hitter Courtney Ceo, who is batting .514 on the season.

Today’s semifinal game begins at 5 p.m. The loser will face the winner of a game between Rio Linda and Whitney at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the team from the loser’s bracket will need two wins over the undefeated playoff team to claim the section title.