McNamee, Salas guide Vaqueros to Bash at the Beach title

Throw the ball, catch the ball, hit the ball.

The pitchers and catcher got it done for SBCC on Sunday as the Vaqueros posted a pair of shutouts to claim the title in their Bash at the Beach softball tournament at Pershing Park. Santa Barbara blanked Saddleback 8-0 in six innings and beat Fullerton 2-0 in the championship game. SBCC went 4-0 in the eight-team, two-day tourney and Fullerton (15-10) was second at 3-1.

The Vaqueros (19-6) have won seven straight and 12 of the last 14 games. They've outscored their opponents 70-9 during the seven-game win streak. SBCC is 7-1 at home and No. 4 in the state in runs scored for the year (205 in 25 games for an 8.2 average).

Madison McNamee (10-3) tossed a five-hit shutout in the first game and threw the first three innings vs. Fullerton, allowing just one hit. The freshman from Cabrillo High has been battling a back injury all season.

"I was trying to manage my pitches and keep my pitch count low," said McNamee, who won three of the four games in the tourney and didn't allow a run in 13.1 innings. "I was working my spins as much as I could to take the pressure off my back.

"I was trying to keep the ball off the plate and throw it low or on the hands to try and get pop-ups. My outfield was on fire today, I knew they had my back."

Freshman catcher Monica Salas went 3-6 on the day and delivered a two-out, two-run single in the third inning to drive in the only runs against the Hornets. Sydney Townes and Alyssa-Rae Jewell reached on fielder's choices and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch to set the stage for Salas, who hit a soft flyball over the third baseman's head and just inside the left-field line.

Rebecca Pullen tossed the last four innings of the Fullerton game to earn her first save, allowing no runs and three singles. It was the second tourney title of the year for the Vaqueros, who also won the Golden West Tournament on March 4-6.

"Madison did a fantastic job of keeping the batters off-balance and getting a lot of groundouts," said SBCC coach Paula Congleton. "She went as far as she could in the second game and our pitching change came at the perfect time. That change of pitchers and pitching styles led to a lot of groudouts for Becca."

Salas hit .500 in the tournament (6-12) and Jewell was close behind at .417 (5-12). Salas extended her hitting streak to 12 games. She leads the Vaqueros in batting (.476), slugging percentage (.655) and RBIs (30).

Lauren Ballard had three outstanding catches in left field, including one near the left-field foul pole that ended the second inning against Saddleback. "Hope (Ballard) was up against the fence and hit the pole, causing a little injury under her lip. Our outfielders were outstanding the entire tournament."

Delainy Ogan drilled a three-run homer in the fourth inning of the first game. Christal Vierra was 3-3 in the opener with a single and two doubles. The Vaqueros scored five runs with two outs in the sixth to end the game on the eight-run rule.

Ballard, a freshman from Highlands Ranch, Colo., drove in two with a single and Townes, who was 3-7 on the day, delivered a two-run double down the left-field line to make it 9-0. Jewell singled up the middle past the diving shortstop to score Townes and end the game.

"Overall, it was a fantastic weekend," Congleton concluded. "Madison, Monica, Christal and Delainy all had great tournaments. We put it all together. We have a lot of confidence right now and hopefully, we'll continue that in conference."

After playing 16 of their first 20 on the road, the Vaqueros will complete a seven-game homestand next week. They host Cuesta, the WSC Gold leader at 3-0, in a Tuesday doubleheader at 1 and 3 p.m., then take on Ventura on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.