For a moment it looked like Charter Oak’s improbable comeback might end with Jazmyn Johnson belting a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh.

But Johnson’s deep fly to center was caught just a few feet short of the fence, and visiting Huntington Beach held on for an 8-7 victory in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 softball playoffs Thursday.

“We showed we have a lot of grit,” Charter Oak coach Bre Gilcrhrist said. “I wish they could have shown it sooner. We needed one thing to start it and we got it going. We just came up short.”

Huntington Beach (22-6) advances to today’s second round. It will be home against Chino Hills, an 8-1 winner against Mater Dei.

It looked like the Chargers might get blown out until Mikayla Diebert’s two-out single drove in two runs in the bottom of the third inning. That gave the Chargers life and cut the Oilers’ lead to 6-2.

Huntington Beach’s Morgan Drotter answered, however, with a mammoth homer to left in the fourth to give the Oilers a five-run lead.

But the Chargers wouldn’t go away.

After Sophia Ortiz singled home Lyla Caston, Angalina Arcos followed with a towering home run to right, cutting the Oilers’ lead to 7-5 after four innings.

Charter Oak inched closer on Lyla Caston’s RBI single in the fifth, making it 7-6.

After Huntington Beach tacked on another run in the sixth inning, Charter Oak’s Leila Diebert smacked a two-out home run in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Oilers’ lead to 8-7.

— Fred Robledo

St. Paul 6, Bishop Amat 1: St. Paul got an outstanding pitching performance from freshman Gia Napoles, backed by timely hitting, to down Bishop Amat in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs.

It was a battle between Del Rey League rivals and the Swordsmen avenged being swept by the Lancers (16-12) in league play.

The Swordsmen (13-14) will host San Marcos in a second-round game today.

Napoles scattered five hits and gave up an unearned run.

Amat scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth but Napoles retired 10 of the next 11 batters and her teammates added three more runs to put the game out of reach.

Kailee Mejia had a home run and two hits. Daina Munoz and Sunni Vasquez also had two hits to lead the Swordsmen’s offense.

— John Honell

THURSDAY’S SCORES

DIVISION 1

Huntington Beach 8, Charter Oak 7

La Mirada 4, Paraclete 2

Rosary Academy 8, Bonita 2

La Habra 11, Upland 1

DIVISION 2

California 5, Beckman 1

Sonora 8, Villa Park 1

Linfield Christian 9, Los Altos 8

Ganesha 1, Agoura 0

Whittier Christian 12, Shadow Hills 0

Los Alamitos 9, South Hills 2

La Serna 16, Liberty 6

DIVISION 3

St. Paul 6, Bishop Amat 1

Alta Loma 13, El Rancho 1

Marina 10, Arcadia 0

Westlake 7, Schurr 3

Chaminde 12, Glendora 3

DIVISION 4

Duarte 7, Heritage Christian 2

South El Monte 20, Summit 7

Northview 3, Apple Valley 2

El Toro 5, Diamond Ranch 3

DIVISION 5

Muir (16-12), bye

Highland 9, Rowland 1

Irvine 11, Flintridge Sacred Heart 0

Canyon Springs 10, Sierra Vista 0

Lancaster 10, Keppel 9

La Canada 10, Wiseburn Da Vinci 0

DIVISION 6

South Pasadena 11, The Archer School 1

Cantwell Sacred Heart 3, Eastside 2

University 21, Monrovia 1

Ramona Convent 12, Flintridge Prep 2

Pasadena Poly 4, Leuzinger 2

La Salle 6, Oxford Academy 1

Adelanto 7, Pioneer 3

Eisenhower 10, Arroyo 0

Rio Hondo Prep 8, Southlands Christian 6

DIVISION 7

Garey 6, Workman 5

Edgewood 10, Arroyo Valley 0

San Bernardino 14, Mountain View 3

DIVISION 8

Hueneme 14, Pomona Catholic 2