MORGAN HILL >> A softball season for North Salinas High that crossed into six different months, lasted a week after school was out and included the loss of four seniors to summer vacation, reached the pinnacle Saturday.

While the result wasn’t what North Salinas envisioned, the thought of its core returning next spring — including its top five hitters and starting pitcher — paints a bright future for a program on the rise.

The Vikings’ bid for a CIF Northern California Division V title fell short in the championship game as they fell to Live Oak 13-3 in five innings in Morgan Hill.

The setback snapped a five-game winning streak for the Central Coast Section Division V champions as North Salinas finished the year 15-13.

“I told the girls we’re coming back,” North Salinas coach Bernie Medina said. “That’s what we want to do. These girls know how to get here. To have their season go so far brought them so close. It’s something they’ll never forget.”

The No. 2 seeded Vikings came into the championship game having outscored five postseason opponents 57-5, defeating two Northern California teams 26-1.

Live Oak, however, put four on the board in the first inning and four more in the third to open up an 8-3 lead, putting the Vikings in a position they had not faced in the playoffs.

“We were looking to get on base, get one more hit,” Medina said. “There was a feeling of being invincible in the playoffs. Let’s go one more round.”

Once upon a time rivals in the old Monterey Bay League and Tri-County Athletic League, the two teams met on March 3 in the Circle of Champions tournament with Live Oak prevailing 5-4.

Ironically both teams struggled to 5-9 records in their respective leagues, with the Acorns (15-11) winning the CCS DIV title and North Salinas claiming the DV championship — its first in 20 years.Live Oak’s record was somewhat misleading as it plays in the Mount Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, which includes NorCal DII champion Willow Glen, CCS DI runner-up Westmont, and CCS DIII finalist Santa Teresa.

The Vikings (15-12) were one of five Gabilan Division teams to win a CCS divisional title and one of three to play for a Northern California title, joining Notre Dame in Division II and Hollister in Division I.

“This team exceeded expectations far beyond,” Medina said. “We knew we weren’t going have our four seniors. But these kids wanted to prove something. We wanted to battle.”

A run-scoring double from Clarissa Corona in the first inning staked North Salinas to a 1-0 lead, before the Acorns responded with a four-run uprising.

Valerie Nunez’s two-run triple in the third cut the deficit to one, only to see Live Oak answer the challenge with another four-run outburst to open up a five-run cushion in the fourth inning, before ending it in the fifth because of the 10-run rule.

The top-seeded Acorns, who had a first-round bye in the quarterfinals, dominated postseason play, outscoring five opponents 59-4.