Cats outrun Mustangs to keep playing

The Saddleback softball team survived a second elimination game at the 3C2A State Tournament with a 10-8 victory over San Joaquin Delta College on Friday evening at Bakersfield College.  The Bobcats are one of four teams remaining and will play Santa Rosa College on Saturday afternoon.

Saddleback started the day in a win-or-go-home situation.  The Bobcats weren't quite ready to call it a season, defeating both San Diego Mesa College and San Joaquin Delta College to advance to the final weekend of the 2026 season. 

Saddleback started slowly for a third straight game, allowing Delta to score three runs in the top of the first inning as the Mustangs looked ready to avenge a loss in the winner's bracket earlier in the day.

Saddleback quickly pounced back, scoring two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to send a message that the Cats hadn't used up all nine lives.  Millie Maher led off the inning by reaching base on a defensive miscue and later came around to score when Ka'ui Garcia hit a rocket down the left field line for a double.  Ehva Cifuentes-Zombulovic then advanced Garcia to third base on a sharp single to left field before the Bobcats caught the Mustangs by surprise with a squeeze bunt to score Garcia with the second run of the inning.

San Joaquin Delta wasn't ready to quit, bouncing back with two runs in the top half of the second inning to again stretch the lead to three runs at 5-2.  The Mustangs had a pair of hits and took advantage of a couple of walks in a game that was starting to look like a potential marathon.

Saddleback again answered in the bottom half of the second inning when it scored four times in taking its first lead of the game.  Alexis Vanhorn started the rally with a single before Tessa Arciniega reached base on a defensive error.  The Bobcats made the Mustangs pay for the miscue when Lola Winningham singled home Vanhorn and later Arciniega scored on a fielder's choice to cut the deficit to 5-4.  Saddleback tied the game when the Delta pitcher threw a ball to the backstop on a wild pitch, allowing Winningham to dive headfirst into home plate to tie the game at 5-5.  The Bobcats then capitalized with the go-ahead run when Garcia tripled to the right field wall and Maher easily trotted home for a 6-5 lead. 

Saddleback maintained a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom half of the fourth inning when it opened up some breathing room by scoring three times to stretch the lead to 9-5.  San Joaquin Delta made a pitching change to start the inning and Maher greeted the new hurler with a single to right field to start the inning and she advanced to second base when the right fielder bobbled the ball.  The Mustangs then started to show signs of tiredness with another defensive error, allowing Mikayla Mendoza to reach base as Maher jetted around third base with the opening run of the inning.  Garcia then came to the plate and was hit by a pitch as things were starting to unravel for the Mustangs.  Two batters later, Colette Howren blasted a ball down the left field line to score both Mendoza and Garcia to give the Bobcats a 9-5 lead. 

San Joaquin Delta then showed why it was the Big-8 Conference champions when it bounced back with two runs in the top half of the fifth inning and another run in the top half of the sixth inning to get back within 9-8.  The Bobcats helped out with a handful of walks and a hit batsman in the fifth inning as Delta scored twice despite only one hit in the inning.  The Mustangs then pulled within one run in the sixth when Brooklin Preece singled home Brooklyn Galloway, who had led off the inning with a double.

Little did either team know at the time, but it would be as close as Delta would get as Saddleback came to the plate and Cifuentes-Zombulovic added to the lead with her team-leading 12^th home run of the season.  For Cifuentes-Zombulovic (image below), it was her second homer of the day after hitting a blast against San Diego Mesa earlier in the day and would set a new program record with 21 career homers. 

Saddleback headed back the field with a two-run advantage, needing just three outs to close out a second straight elimination game on the right side of the scoreboard.  Howren (22-7) took to the mound and after giving up a double to start the inning, shut down the Mustangs to preserve the team's 34^th win of the season. 

Saddleback is now 34-14 following the win and will advance to weekend play where they will face Santa Rosa College at 3:00 PM at Bakersfield College.  The Bear Cubs also bounced back with two wins on Friday after a humbling 33-3 defeat in their opening game of the tournament against Palomar College.  The winner of the Saddleback/Santa Rosa game would face the loser of Palomar versus College of San Mateo game, which starts at 12:00 PM. 

GAME NOTES:  Saddleback now has 34 wins for the season, which ranks sixth all-time in program history.  Another win on Saturday would move the 2026 team into a tie for fourth place all-time with the 2008 and 2010 teams.  Saddleback won 38 games on three occasions (1987, 1988, 1999). 

BELOW:  Cifuentes-Zombulovic crosses home plate after hitting her program-record 21st career home run (image c/o Ben Kokkelenberg)