SANTA BARBARA – The SBCC softball team won its sixth straight home game to begin the season on Saturday, besting Chaffey 5-3 after scoring all of its runs in the fourth inning. The Vaqueros followed that up with one of their best hitting games of the year, but couldn't turn it into runs in an 8-4 defeat.
SBCC 5, Chaffey 3
Santa Barbara (12-5) gave up the first two runs in game one before the offense exploded in the fourth. After the Panther (6-7) defense picked up two outs, all five of SBCC's runs would come on three consecutive at bats.
The Vaqueros loaded the bases with a pair of walks and single. A big two-RBI single up the middle by Mackenzie Ensign got the scoring started and led to a Chaffey throwing error, as Hailey Abdilla and Sarah Hammonds and Jessica Reveles all made it home. Ensign then scored on a Julianna Ortiz triple to right field. That was followed by an RBI single to third base by Lauren Indermuehle.
The Panthers got one back in the top of the fifth, but pitcher Joslyn Soinila finished things off by giving up just one hit in the last two innings to preserve the 5-3 win. Reveles, Ensign and Ortiz all finished with two hits.
Chaffey 8, SBCC 4
Both teams piled up hits in the second game of the day. However, Chaffey jumped out to a 6-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth and SBCC couldn't recover.
The Vaqueros scored their first two runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Emma Hatcher and Ensign. In the sixth, they answered two more Chaffey runs with two of their own, as Ensign brought Hammonds in with a sacrifice fly and Ortiz singled through the left side to score a run by Reveles. Those would be the last runs of the day for either team.
For the third time this season, five different Vaqueros finished with multiple hits. Their 12 hits as a team were good for their third-highest total.
NEXT UP
SBCC plays next at LA Pierce as it resumes WSC play on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
