Vaqueros split a pair; Salas belts first college homer

Sophomore Janet Salas cracked her first home run, a two-run shot that gave SBCC a 4-3 lead vs. Imperial Valley. (File photo by Ken Sciallo/Sevilla Photography)
Sophomore Janet Salas cracked her first home run, a two-run shot that gave SBCC a 4-3 lead vs. Imperial Valley. (File photo by Ken Sciallo/Sevilla Photography)

SBCC dropped a tough 9-8 softball decision at San Diego City College on Saturday on a walk-off single in the last inning, then rebounded to beat Imperial Valley 5-3.

Janet Salas, a former Dos Pueblos High star, hit her first college homer, a 2-run blast in the third inning of the second game that put the Vaqueros ahead to stay at 4-3.

The Vaqueros (5-14) fell behind 4-1 after one inning of the opener, then scored five runs in the second inning to take a 6-4 lead. The Vaqueros got the five runs on four hits and three walks, including two bases-loaded walks. Hannah Weaver drove in the last two runs with a two-out single.

After the Knights (6-6) tied it at 6, the Vaqueros went back ahead 8-6 in the fourth on an RBI double by Kayana Diaz and an error that allowed Diaz to score. The Knights got a run back in the fourth, then won it in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out, two-RBI single to right by Sabrina Figueroa.

The Vaqueros erased a 3-1 deficit against Imperial Valley by scoring three in the third. Samantha Yanes led off with a double and scored on a two-out double by Emily LoneTree. Salas followed with her 2-run homer to right-center field.

LoneTree went 2-3 with two doubles, raising her team-leading batting average to .400. Yanes was 2-2 with a triple and double in her first two at-bats. She's batting .370 on the year.

Carson Dunckley made her first start in the circle in the second game and pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on nine hits.

The Vaqueros will play three games in four days this week. They'll travel to Orange Coast on Tuesday, then host Ventura on Thursday and L.A. Pierce on Friday, both at 2:30 p.m.