Saddleback ends 38-year drought

The Saddleback softball team clinched at least a share of the Orange Empire Conference championship with a 12-11 win at Santiago Canyon College on Tuesday in Orange.  It is the first conference title for the softball program since 1988.

The last time Saddleback won a conference title in softball, George Michael's Faith was the hottest album in the land, gas was $1.15 a gallon, the Ford Escort was the most popular selling car and the movie The Last Emperor won best picture. 

Fast-forward the clock 38 years to 2026 and Saddleback has its first Orange Empire Conference title since 1988 after an improbable 12-11 win at Santiago Canyon.

Saddleback looked as if it would run away with the win, jumping out to a 7-0 lead after 3.5 innings.  The Bobcats scored three times in both the first and second innings.  Saddleback opened the game with Mikayla Mendoza reaching base on a defensive error.  The Bobcats made it hurt when Ka'ui Garcia doubled to left field for the opening run of the game.  Two batters later, Colette Howren doubled to right field to score both Garcia and Ehva Cifuentes-Zombulovic for a 3-0 lead.

Saddleback tackled on three more runs in the top of the second inning and again was aided by a defensive miscue and some pitching wildness from the Hawks.  The final run came on a single from Howren to score Millie Maher for a 6-0 advantage.

Saddleback added one more run in the top of the third inning when Lehua Garcia doubled with one out in the inning and two batters later Mikayla Mendoza doubled to increase the lead to 7-0.

Just when you thought it was over, however, Santiago Canyon rallied for a monster inning in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a lead.  The Hawks sent 14 batters to the plate, collecting five hits while taking advantage of four walks, a hit batter and a defensive error.  Santiago Canyon turned a seven-run deficit into a three-run advantage in a half-inning that took close to 40 minutes. 

Saddleback trailed 10-7 heading into the top half of the sixth inning when it showed why it has championship caliber.  The Bobcats responded with three runs in the inning to tie the game at 10-10.  The first five batters of the inning reached base, with Howren tying the game on a double to score Ka'ui Garcia.

The two teams went to the seventh inning tied at 10-10 and with the first two batters going down quietly for Saddleback, it looked as if the Bobcats were going to have to go to extra innings in order to win the game.  That is when Mikayla Mendoza stepped to the plate and hit her first home run of the season to break the tie.  For Mendoza, it was just her fourth extra base hit of the season, despite being her second of the game and third in the past two days. 

The home run seemed to spark the rest of the team as Maher then doubled to left field before advancing to third base on a wild pitch.  Ka'ui Garcia then added an insurance run with a single to score Maher for a 12-10 lead.

Saddleback turned to Howren on the mound in the bottom half of the seventh inning as they looked to preserve the win and celebrate ending a 38-year drought on the diamond.  Santiago Canyon responded with what looked like a game-tying double with two outs in the inning, only to have the throw from Ka'ui Garcia beat Emily Ceballos to the plate, thus getting Ceballos caught in a rundown to end the game. 

Howren pitched the final four innings in earning the win and improving to 16-5 for the season.  She also finished 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBI. 

Mikayla Mendoza reached base four times, finishing 2-for-3 with two walks and four runs-scored.  Ka'ui Garcia remained red hot, finishing 3-for-5 with two runs-scored and two RBI.

Saddleback is now 27-12 overall and 15-5 in the Orange Empire Conference following the win.  The Bobcat win combined with a Cypress loss gives Saddleback a one-game lead over Fullerton College with one game remaining and eliminates Cypress from title contention. 

A win on Thursday at home against Santiago Canyon (2:00 PM) would give Saddleback the outright Orange Empire Conference title.  

GAME NOTES:

Ka'ui Garcia is now batting .548 in conference play with one game remaining in the regular season.  The highest batting average ever achieved in conference play was .551 by Jessica Angulo in 2015.

The 15 wins in Orange Empire Conference play is the most since 2015.

Saddleback wins the Orange Empire Conference title for the first time since 1988, when the team went 19-1 in conference play.