Cats breeze in rubber match

The Saddleback softball team defeated Golden West College, 10-2, on Friday at Bobcats Field.  The Bobcats won the series to take over sole possession of first place in the Orange Empire Conference.

Saddleback and Golden West were playing in 90-degree heat for a second straight day after playing the second game of the series on Thursday at Golden West.  The Bobcats also turned up the heat with the bats, pounding out 12 hits over five innings in moving to nine games above .500 for the first time this season.

Golden West scored first when leadoff hitter Erica Madrid led off the first inning with a triple to right field and later came around to score on a fielder's choice.  From that point forward, Saddleback dominated the action in cruising to a 5-inning, shortened game.

Saddleback took the lead in the bottom half of the first inning, taking advantage of some pitching wildness from Golden West.  Ka'ui Garcia and Ehva Cifuentes-Zombulovic both walked in the inning before advancing a base due to a passed ball.  Alexis Vanhorn made the Rustlers pay for their mistakes with a single to left-center field for a 2-1 lead in the game.

Saddleback opened up a bigger lead in the bottom half of the third inning when scoring three more times for a 5-1 advantage.  Garcia and Cifuentes-Zombulovic had back-to-back doubles to start the inning before Lola Winningham singled through the left side of the infield to bring in both runners.  Later in the inning a defensive miscue allowed Winningham to cross home plate for a 5-1 lead.

Saddleback blew the game wide open in the bottom half of the fourth inning when scoring three more times to take an 8-2 lead.  After back-to-back singles from Millie Maher and Garcia to lead off the inning, Winningham (pictured) came to the plate with one out and singled home Maher for a 6-2 lead.  Vanhorn followed with a single to drive home Ka'ui Garcia.  Two batters later, Lehua Garcia reached base on an error as Winningham crossed home plate. 

Saddleback iced the game in the bottom half of the fifth inning.  Needing two runs to end the game as a result of the 8-run rule, Saddleback put runners at first and second base with one out and Cifuentes-Zombulovic coming to the plate.  She doubled down the right field line to score Maher and have runners at second and third base with one out in the inning.  Winningham then came to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Ka'ui Garcia with the game-ending run.

Winningham finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs-scored in the game.  Ka'ui Garica reached base four times, finishing 3-for-3 with a walk and four runs-scored.  Vanhorn finished 2-for-3 with three RBI while Cifuentes-Zombulovic was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.  In total, the 2-through-5 hitters in the lineup were 9-for-12 with eight runs-scored, eight RBI and two walks.

Saddleback is now 17-8 overall and 5-1 in Orange Empire Conference play following the win.  The Bobcats are alone in first place in conference play through two weeks of the season. 

Saddleback now has a week off for spring break before heading back into OEC play against Riverside City College on March 24.