Vaqueros Nearly Erase 8-0 Deficit Against Chaffey
By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Softball team (11-16, 2-2) hosted a solid Chaffey team (19-7, 6-0) for a Saturday non-conference doubleheader, mounting a strong comeback in the first game but ultimately dropping both.
Game one: Chaffey 8, Santa Barbara 7
Both teams went through the first two innings scoreless as Vaquero starter Sammi Korte did not allow a hit. With two outs in the third, a double, single, and double made it 2-0 Chaffey.
An unlucky top of the fourth for the Vaqueros blew the game open. After a 3-2 count walk to start the inning, a well-placed sacrifice bunt turned into a hit. With runners on first and second, Chaffey's batter popped up her bunt, but it was placed perfectly over the drawn-in Gracie Verdugo at third. Had it been any softer, the Vaqueros might have had a triple play, or at least a double play. The next batter cleared the bases with a grand slam, and what could have stayed a 2-0 deficit suddenly was 6-0.
A two-run single in the top of the fifth made it 8-0, qualifying for a run-rule victory should the Vaqueros fail to score in the bottom half. With one out, Aila Leoffler hit her first homer as a Vaquero to extend the game. Verdugo's RBI double the following inning made it 8-2 after six.
Santa Barbara had just four hits going into the bottom of the seventh, but they would more than double that total before the game ended. Leoffler led off the inning with a single followed by Kaylee Carrillo's single. A few wild pitches scored both of them, and Maite Juarez's homer made it a three-run game—now 8-5 Chaffey, still with nobody out.
Back at the top of the order, Bella Cox doubled and Ruby Bartholomew walked, bringing the tying run to the plate. A lineout allowed Chaffey to breathe a bit, finally. A wild pitch brought the runners to second and third before Verdugo hit an infield single, plus the second baseman threw the ball away, allowing two runs to score and Verdugo to reach second. The tying run now in scoring position, Chaffey earned a pop-up and strikeout to halt Santa Barbara's massive comeback just short at 8-7.
Game two: Chaffey 10, Santa Barbara 2 (5 inn.)
The second game was more straightforward for the visitors, unfortunately for the Vaqueros. Two errors in the top of the first led to two runs, but the Vaqueros got both of them back in the bottom half for an early 2-2 scoreline.
A two-out RBI single in the second made it 3-2 Chaffey, but the most damage was done in the third. After a leadoff single, three errors—including two on bunts—and a single accounted for five runs, giving Chaffey an 8-2 lead, reminiscent of game one.
No comeback was in the cards this time, though, as the Vaqueros could not get a run across the remainder of the game. Chaffey added two more in the fifth, thus ending the game prematurely with a 10-2 final.
Bella Cox and Ruby Bartholomew each had two hits and scored a run apiece in the second game. Gracie Verdugo ended the day with three RBIs to lead the team.
The Vaqueros stay at home, looking ahead to a conference matchup against Moorpark on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Pershing Park.