Softball Walks off East LA in Tuesday Doubleheader
By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Softball team (11-13) hosted an electric doubleheader against East Los Angeles (14-8) on Tuesday, losing game one 4-3 before Mia Gaitan's walk-off single won game two 6-5.
With the win, the Vaqueros have won three of their past four games and seven of the last nine. They will aim to use that momentum as conference play resumes later this week.
Game one: East LA 4, Santa Barbara 3
The first of the two one-run games unfortunately did not go the Vaqueros' way. After East LA scored two in the top of the first, Santa Barbara immediately got a run back through Gracie Verdugo's RBI single. The visitors added to their lead, though, manufacturing a run in the fourth and sixth innings to make it 4-1.
Then, with one last chance, the Vaqueros put together a rally in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and a runner on first, Bella Cox singled and Ruby Bartholomew walked to load the bases and put the tying run on base. Gaitan got her first of two clutch hits on the day, ripping a two-run single and advancing Bartholomew to third. Gaitan then stole second, putting the winning run in scoring position. A flyout ended the game, though, but perhaps inspired some confidence in the Vaqueros, which they would use in game two.
Cox, the leadoff hitter, went four-for-four and scored two of the team's three runs. Verdugo also had a multi-hit day with two hits. After pitching a four-hitter in Saturday's 4-1 win, Sammi Korte tossed a complete game, only allowing one extra-base hit—to the first batter of the game.
Game two: Santa Barbara 6, East LA 5
The first inning of game two mirrored game one. East LA plated two in the top half of the inning before an RBI from Verdugo made it 2-1. In her second at bat, Verdugo's single drove in two to give the Vaqueros a 3-2 lead after three innings.
But the lead did not last long, though. Four singles scored three runs in the top of the fourth, restoring the visitors' lead at 5-3.
Santa Barbara tied it in the fifth thanks to an RBI from Korte and Anja Perreira's two-out double. Bartholomew—the game two starting pitcher—worked a scoreless top of the sixth and seventh innings thanks in part to a great throw from right fielder Kaylee Carrillo to nab a runner going from first to third on a single.
Thus, tied 5-5 going into the bottom of the seventh, a Vaquero win would have to be a walk-off. Bartholomew led off the inning with some well-earned pitcher's luck, reaching on a two-base error by the second baseman. Gaitan, the next batter, fell behind 0-2 in the count. With two strikes, nobody out, and the winning run in scoring position, she shortened up to put the ball in play, hitting a walk-off single—the Vaqueros' second of the young season.
Cox, Gaitan, and Verdugo all had two hits, with Verdugo leading the team with three RBIs. Bartholomew pitched a gutsy, 145-pitch complete game, striking out seven and earning the win.
It was a fun day at Pershing Park in multiple ways. Along with the walk-off, several players from the Vaquero Baseball team came out to support, sparking frenetic celebrations as the Vaqueros won game two.
The Vaqueros travel to Western State Conference (WSC) North rival Cuesta on Thursday before hosting another doubleheader on Saturday against Chaffey.