By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Softball team (6-4) split a doubleheader with Saddleback on Friday, finally playing their first home games of the season.
Game 1 – Saddleback 11, SBCC 3 (5 innings)
The early game was forgettable for the Vaqueros, who led 2-1 after the first inning but surrendered 4 in the top of the 2nd and never could forge a comeback.
In the 3rd inning, though, Gracie Verdugo drilled her third homer of the year just beyond the leap of the right fielder. The solo shot brought the Vaqueros a tad closer at 6-3.
The game unraveled quickly for the Vaqueros from there. Now down 7-3 in the top of the 5th, a ground ball with 2 outs and nobody on looked to get SBCC back in the dugout. However, an error on the play kept the inning alive, and a double and a walk brought the bases loaded. Macy Smith then hit a grand slam for Saddleback, increasing their lead to 11-3.
With the Vaqueros going scoreless in the bottom half of the inning, the run rule ended the game early. The Vaqueros looked to regroup in the ensuing second game.
Game 2 – Saddleback 5, SBCC 6
The second matchup began with a 2-out, 2-RBI double for Saddleback, putting the Vaqueros behind again before coming to bat. Saddleback tacked on another run in the 2nd making it 3-0.
The Vaqueros got out of both the 2nd and 3rd innings without further damage thanks to some nice defensive plays. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the 2nd, center fielder Mia Reveles caught a fly ball and threw the tagging runner from third out at home. In the 3rd, with runners at second and third and 1 out, third baseman Gracie Verdugo fielded a ground ball and threw the batter out at first. The runner at third then broke home, and first baseman Melissa Rodriguez threw a dot to the plate to get the runner out, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Mia Reveles reached on a bunt single with 1 out. She advanced to second on a passed ball and reached third on a wild pitch before Jessica Reveles brought her home on a single up the middle.
In the 4th, the Vaqueros took advantage of a defensive mishap when a comeback to the pitcher with a runner on first led to everyone being safe. Both middle infielders went to the second base bag, and whoever caught the throw was not touching second base. After an out, Alexia Ayala hit a bloop double down the right field line, scoring a run to make it 3-2 Saddleback. Mia Reveles then did the same thing in between the shortstop and left fielder, doubling to score 2 runs and give the Vaqueros the lead, 4-3.
The Vaqueros held the lead until the top of the 6th, when Saddleback scored the tying run on a passed ball. Then, with 2 outs, an error allowed the go-ahead run to score, giving Saddleback the lead back at 5-4.
After a clean top of the 7th inning, SBCC had a chance to tie or win the game. That chance started off perfectly, as Jessica Reveles led off the inning with a triple past a diving center fielder. Gracie Verdugo then pulled a ground ball to second, and the speedy Reveles beat the throw home—tie game. Elliana Ryan doubled to right center, continuing the sudden surge of the Vaqueros bats, and Verdugo was conservatively held at third since there was still nobody out.
With the winning run at third, it looked like Saddleback was purposely pitching around Mackenzie Ensign. The first two pitches of the at bat were way above the zone, with the catcher setting her target there. One can assume Saddleback preferred a bases loaded situation to give them a force out at home rather than a potential tag play. However, it would never get that far, as the 2-0 pitch was too high, over the reach of the catcher. Verdugo ran home and scored easily, and the Vaqueros dugout came rushing out to celebrate the walk-off win.
Mia Reveles, Jessica Reveles, Elliana Ryan, and Alexia Ayala each had 2 hits, and each of them had an extra base hit, too. Elliana Ryan threw all 12 innings for SBCC, amounting to 209 pitches across both games. Despite being gassed, she still was able to all but seal the game with her double in the bottom of the 7th.
After waiting weeks for their first home game due to rainouts and field conditions, the Vaqueros next play at home once again for a Tuesday doubleheader hosting Taft, beginning at 12 noon.
