No. 2 Hawks blank Vaqueros in Super Regional opener

Santiago Canyon erupted for 10 runs in the first inning on Friday and went on to blank SBCC 18-0 in five innings in the Southern Cal Super Regional softball tournament in Orange.

Emili Olague led the No. 2 Hawks (35-7) with two homers and five RBIs, including a grand slam to cap the 10-run first. Lyndsi King was 2-2 with a double and single for the No. 9 Vaqueros (30-13) and Sydney Townes was 2-2 with a walk.

The Hawks loaded the bases with two outs in the first and went ahead 4-0 on an RBI single by Ashley Clark. Rebecca  Pullen replaced Vaquero starter Madison McNamee and SCC added six unearned runs after a Vaquero error.

Riley Nahrwold (14-5) got the win for Santiago Canyon, giving up no runs on three hits in three innings. The Hawks outhit the Vaqueros 17-6 and took over the state batting lead at .414.

SBCC will take on No. 6 Canyons (31-13) on Saturday in an elimination game at 1 p.m. The Cougars lost to No. 3 Mt. San Antonio 3-1 in Friday's second game.

The Vaqueros, the third-place team from the WSC Gold Division, split with Canyons, the WSC Blue champion, on Feb. 19 at SBCC. Santa Barbara won the opener 6-0 and lost the nightcap 3-0.