Cats take series from Tigers
Cats open 3-game series against Cypress on Tuesday in Cypress
The Saddleback softball team won the rubber match of a three-game series against Riverside City College with an 8-1 victory on Friday at Bobcats Field. Ka'ui Garcia homered for the second time in three games in the win.
Saddleback bounced back from a frustrating loss on Thursday and cruised past Riverside to remain in a tie for first place in the Orange Empire Conference through three weeks of conference play.
Saddleback struck for four runs in the opening inning as the bats came out swinging. The Bobcats had five straight hits to start the game and six hits in the inning in taking a lead they would never relinquish. After Millie Maher led off the inning with a single, Ka'ui Garcia hit a ball off the flagpole beyond the left-center field wall for a 2-0 lead. It was her third home run of the season and second in three games.
Saddleback added two more runs in the bottom half of the second inning to take a 6-1 lead. The Bobcats had another three hits, with the last coming from Alexis Vanhorn to drive in both Maher and Garcia with their second runs of the game.
Saddleback completely put the game on ice in the bottom half of the sixth inning when they scored two more runs for an 8-1 advantage. Tessa Arciniega led off the inning with a ball down the right field line for a double. The next batter was Garcia, who hit a lazy fly ball to center field that was dropped by the center fielder, allowing Vanhorn to trot home with the seventh run of the game. The Bobcats then had back-to-back singles from Ehva Cifuentes-Zombulovic and Lola Winningham before Vanhorn came back to the plate and brought home Garcia with a sacrifice fly for a seven-run lead.
Saddleback started Colette Howren on the mound and she pitched a complete game in improving to 9-2 on the season. Howren struck out eight Tigers while spreading around six hits in the win.
Saddleback is now 19-9 overall and 7-2 in Orange Empire Conference play. The Bobcats are tied for first place with Fullerton College, leading Orange Coast College by one game and both Cypress College and Golden West College by two games in the standings.
Saddleback opens a three-game series with Cypress on Tuesday at Cypress. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM.