SBCC was held to six hits on Saturday but still managed to go 1-1 on the opening day of the Bakersfield Softball Tournament. The Vaqueros were blanked by No. 11 Cerritos 8-0 in five innings, then rallied to beat No. 6 Riverside 4-3.
Jamie Ramirez pitched a three-hitter in the first game and Ariana Mejia and Ramirez homered for the Falcons (16-6). Brianna Portese had the only hit for Santa Barbara with a one-out single in the second inning.
"We are so hot and cold, you can see by the results today," said coach Paula Congleton. "We have to learn to play both ends of a doubleheader."
The Vaqueros (11-9) overcame a 3-0 deficit vs. Riverside (19-5) by scoring four in the bottom of the fifth. Celeste Acosta doubled with one out, then Dakotah Wilcox walked and Shannon Kelly was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Acosta scored on a groundout by Victoria Lucido. Shortstop Alice Cen drilled a two-run double to left-center, tying the score at 3-3. Cen stole third on the next pitch and the throw from the catcher caromed off the third baseman's glove, allowing Cen to race home with the winning run.
"We really showed our tenacity by coming back to beat a very good Riverside team," said Congleton.
Alexandra Abbott pitched the first 3 1/3 innings against Riverside, allowing all three runs. Acosta came on in the fourth and held the Tigers to one hit over the last 3 2/3 frames.
The Vaqueros will play Bakersfield at 10 a.m. Sunday and Saddleback at noon.
