Softball Ends Season Against Oxnard

By Jimmy Friery

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Softball team (17-23, 4-8) ended their season on Wednesday with a 12-6 loss to Oxnard at Pershing Park.

The teams combined to score in eight of the first nine half-innings. Both scored two runs in the first inning, with the Vaqueros' runs coming via a Sammi Korte triple.

In the second, it was Ruby Bartholomew's turn for a two-run hit—a single—to give the Vaqueros a 4-3 lead.

However, Oxnard took the lead in the third. After two quick outs, they went walk, single, RBI single, and two-RBI double to make it 6-4 Oxnard.

Aleena Madrid's RBI single got a run back for the Vaqueros in the bottom half. Oxnard went down scoreless in the fourth, and Gracie Verdugo's RBI single tied the game once again, now 6-6.

Unfortunately for Santa Barbara, that would be the last time they would score. Oxnard tacked on three in the top of the fifth, the runs scoring on a bunt, error, and passed ball/wild pitch. In the sixth, Oxnard's two-out, two-run single all but iced the game as their lead increased to 11-6. A final run in the top of the seventh brought it to the 12-6 final.

In the high-scoring affair, the Vaqueros' 13 hits were only two behind Oxnard's 15. Verdugo led the team with three hits, but Korte, Bartholomew, Bella Cox, and Mia Gaitan all had two hits, too.

Next season looks like a fun one for Santa Barbara. Of the 10 players who appeared in 30 or more games, seven of them were freshmen. All three of their primary pitchers, too, were freshmen. It will be exciting to see how that group builds on this year's performance as sophomores in 2027.