Madison McNamee threw a two-hit shutout on Saturday as SBCC opened the Southern Cal Regional softball playoffs with a 5-0 victory at Grossmont.
The freshman from Cabrillo High retired the first 11 batters and faced just two over the minimum. McNamee (17-6) struck out three and didn't walk a batter. Rachel Everett broke up the no-hitter with a two-out double in the fourth.
"She pitched a great game and her pitch count was really low, which means we can use her again tomorrow (Sunday)," said coach Paula Congleton. "She only threw 20 pitches in the first three innings and 64 for the game."
Monica Salas went 2-3 and Alyssa-Rae Jewell was 2-4 and scored two runs for the ninth-seeded Vaqueros (29-11). No. 8 Grossmont fell to 26-13-1.
Santa Barbara took a 3-0 lead in the third, scoring three unearned runs on two hits and three errors. The Vaqueros added two in the fifth when Lauren Ballard was hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded. Pinch-hitter Connie Towne followed with an RBI single that scored Maggie Jo Jackson.
"We were excited and focused," Congleton added. "We played well on defense with Delainy Ogan making a couple of nice plays at shortstop."
The Vaqueros will try to wrap up the best-of-3 series by taking Game 2 on Sunday at noon. If Grossmont wins, a third game will follow at 2 p.m.
