A mic drop ending

The Saddleback softball team defeated Santiago Canyon College, 9-6, on Thursday afternoon at Bobcats Field.  Ehva Cifuentes-Zombulovic hit a walk-off home run to end the game and regular season.

Saddleback had secured at least a share of the Orange Empire Conference title on Tuesday at Santiago Canyon but wanted to win the game on Thursday to claim an outright championship.  For a handful of innings that goal looked in jeopardy as the Bobcats received a tough challenge from a Santiago Canyon squad looking to spoil the moment. 

Santiago Canyon scored three times in the top half of the first inning when Saddleback allowed a pair of walks and the Hawks capitalized with a pair of hits in the inning.

Saddleback wasted no time in responding as Mikayla Mendoza and Millie Maher both walked to start the inning and then Ka'ui Garcia came to the plate and blasted a three-run homer over the left field wall to even the score.

Santiago Canyon scored a run in the top half of the third inning when Saddleback made a couple of defensive miscues in allowing the Hawks to take a 4-3 lead.  Santiago Canyon added another run in the fourth inning when the Hawks had a pair of hits in quieting a record crowd of close to 175 fans. 

Saddleback answered in the bottom half of the fifth inning when the bats came to life.  With one out in the inning, Maher singled on a bunt down the third base line and Garcia followed with a single to center field to give the Bobcats a pair of runners on base.  Cifuentes-Zombulovic then electrified the crowd with a triple over the right fielder's head to drive in both base-runners and tie the game.  Colette Howren then followed with a sacrifice to the right side of the infield to bring home Cifuentes-Zombulovic with the go-ahead run.

Saddleback was two outs away from winning in the top half of the seventh inning when the Hawks tied the game with a solo homer from Maya Medina.  Howren then settled down and retired the next two batters to send the Bobcats to the plate in the bottom half of the seventh inning with a chance for a walk-off win.

With one out in the bottom half of the seventh inning, Maher singled down the left field line to put the potential winning run on base.  Garcia then drew a walk to put Maher on second base with only one out in the inning.  That's when Cifuentes-Zombulovic came to the plate and blasted a ball over the center field fence for a walk-off, three-run home run.  It was her 10^th home run of the season and a sent the huge crowd into a frenzy.

Cifuentes-Zombulovic finished the game 2-for-5 with a walk and five RBI.  Garcia finished 2-for-3 with a walk, three runs-scored and three RBI.  Maher also reached base three times, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs-scored.

Colette Howren pitched the final six innings in improving to 17-5 for the season.  Howren struck out six while surrendering two earned-runs for the game.

Saddleback finishes the regular season 28-12 overall and 16-5 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats finished one game ahead of Fullerton College in the standings to win the OEC title outright.

Saddleback will find out where they are seeded this weekend when the coaches convene to determine playoff seeds.  The Bobcats currently rank No. 10 in the Ratings Percentage Index in Southern California, which is a large determining factor.

GAME NOTES:

Ka'ui Garcia's 2-for-3 finish raised her average in conference play to .553, which is a new program record.  The previous record of .551 in conference play was held by Jessica Angulo in 2015.

Garcia also set the program record for RBI in Orange Empire Conference play.  She now has 34 RBI in conference play, breaking the old record of 29 set by Christina Pantages in 2014. 

Cifuentes-Zombulovic hit her 10^th home run of the season on Thursday, which was the first time a Saddleback player has hit 10 home runs in the season since 2013 when Sarah Ditommaso hit 10.

Garcia now has 51 RBI and Cifuentes has 50 RBI for the season following the game on Thursday.  The previous record for RBI in a season was 49 by Christina Pantages in 2014. 

Cifuentes-Zombulovic now has 19 home runs for her career.  The program record is 20 set by Christina Bolin in 2011-12. 

Millie Maher now has 33 runs-scored in conference play, breaking the record of 24 set by Christina Pantages in 2014. 

Maher now has 45 runs-scored for the season.  The program record is 50 set by Sarah Bosshart in 2010.