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Santiago Canyon Knocks off Second Straight #1; Advances to State Championship Against Sacramento City

by Andrew Wheeler, CCCSIA

Bakersfield, CA - Santiago Canyon College, the #2 seed out of Southern California, knocked off it's second straight #1 seed in as many games on Saturday night when they defeated Northern California #1 College of San Mateo 6-1. With the win, the Hawks advance to the 2016 CCCAA State Softball Championship Game on Sunday afternoon against Sacramento City College at 12:00 PM.

There was a bit of deja vu on the part of Santiago Canyon in the bottom of the first inning. After leading off the scoring of the previous game with a two-run shot to right-center field, Hawk sophomore Emili Olague did the same in the bottom of the first against San Mateo with a solo shot to the exact same spot in right-center to give SCC an 1-0 lead.

Neither team mustered much of a threat in the second of third innings, but the Bulldogs had their best chance early on come in the top of the fourth. San Mateo would load the bases up with one out in that half of the inning, but sophomore Santiago Canyon pitcher Riley Nahrwold settled back in and got a pop up to third and fanned the final batter of the inning to avoid any really trouble.

In the bottom half of the inning, Santiago Canyon added to their slim lead thanks to a San Mateo error and good old fashion squeeze bunt with sophomore Kaitlin Lanksbury sitting on third base. Sophomore Krista Carranza would lay down the picturesque bunt and did so with two strikes to her name, bringing in Lanksbury and making it 2-0.

Santiago kept their foot on the gas into the bottom of the fifth, where they added three more scores. Sophomore Ashley Clark-Johnson drove in the first with a bases loaded infield single to third base. Sophomore Brittney Howe drove in the next two, with a single to center field that plated Lanksbury. and freshman Alyssa Sojka to make it 5-0.

San Mateo meanwhile, wouldn't get on the board until the top of the sixth inning. With a runner on third and two outs, sophomore Ariana Garcia stepped the plate and went to battle with Nahrwold. Garcia fouled off pitch after pitch, and after working the count full and seeing 10 total pitches, Garcia ripped the 11th to center field to make it 1-5.

The Hawks would add an insurance in the bottom of the sixth, when the third San Mateo error of the day allowed sophomore Shannon Thornton to score and make it 6-1. In the top of the seventh, Nahrwold gave up a one-out hit and nothing more as Santiago Canyon College advanced to it's first ever State Championship Game.

In the win, Nahrwold (18-7) struck out one, surrendered just one walk, and gave up eight total hits over the course of her seven innings of work. Lanksbury finished 2 for 3 with a pair of scores, and Olague was 2 for 2.  

Santiago Canyon Defeats Conference Rival to Live Another Game 

Bakersfield, CA - The Santiago Canyon College Softball team, the #2 seed out of Southern California, beat SoCal #1 Cypress College for the first time in four tries late Saturday evening and did it under the biggest of circumstances. With their chance for a CCCAA State Softball title on the line, the Hawks defeated their conference rival to live at least one more game in the 2016 CCCAA State Championships.

Santiago Canyon's Emili Olague got things off on the right foot with a two-run shot to right-center that gave the Hawks an early 2-0 lead. The Hawks would add to that in the bottom of the second, when freshman Manoa Weijgertse laced a single down the right field line that brought in sophomore Krista Carranza and sophomore Brittany Howe. A few pitches later, the hot hitting sophomore Kaitlyn Lanksbury hit a single to center that scored Olague and made it 5-0.

Cypress would show their first signs of offensive life in the top of the third, when sophomore Jezz Portillo singled to left field driving in sophomore Alexis Carmona. Moments later, the Chargers added another run when sophomore Justice Walker scored from third on a wild pitch.

Lanksbury would add to the Hawk in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out triple down the right field line that brought home teammate and sophomore Jessica Daniel to make it 6-2. Lanksbury did it again in the bottom of the sixth, when she had yet another two-out RBI, hitting a single through the left side of the field, plating Daniel yet again to extend the Santiago Canyon lead to five runs.

The Chargers would make a last ditch effort in the top of the seventh. Walker led the inning off with a single to right, and stole second shortly thereafter. That brought freshman Melanie Okazaki to the plate. Okazaki would come through with a single to right field, but sophomore Ashley Clark-Johnson came up with a huge play throwing Walker out at home with a laser to the catcher Weijgertse to erase the potential run.

In the win, Lanksbury went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Daniel was 2 for 3, scoring a trio of runs, and stealing three bases. Sophomore Riley Nahrwold (17-7) earned her first win of the season, pitching the distance, scattering nine total hits, giving up a pair of walks, and fanning two in the process.

The Hawks live to play at least one more game as they will take on North #1 College of San Mateo at approximately 10:15 PM for the right to take on North #3 Sacramento City College in tomorrow's Championship Game. 

Panthers Push Their Way Into State Championship Game With 10-Inning Win Over San Mateo 

Bakersfield, CA - For the first time since 2004, NorCal #3 seed Sacramento City College has pushed their way into the CCCAA State Softball Championship Game. The Panthers rallied from a two-run deficit in the top of the seventh inning, and then went on to win in the 10th inning 7-6 over NorCal #1 College of San Mateo.

Sacramento City scored the game's first run getting an RBI from sophomore Kaitlyn Leffle that drove in sophomore Madison Butcoff. San Mateo would respond with a big bottom of the first getting three runs, one via an error by the Panthers, the second on an RBI double to right by freshman Jordan Davis, and the third on an RBI single to right by freshman Megan Wells that made it 3-1.

The Bulldogs would add to their lead in the bottom of the second, when sophomore Harlee Donovan belted an RBI double to right-center field. Sophomore Kaitlin Chang followed that up a few at bats later, with a single through the left side of the field that brought Donovan home and made it 5-1.

In the top of the third the Panthers started to chip away at their deficit, getting a solo shot to right-center by freshman Gabby Ortiz to make it 5-2. Before the inning was done, Sacramento made it 5-3 when sophomore Jostyn Bebout hit an infield single that brought in Leffle.

Sacramento saved their best offensive inning for the last second, as they scored three runs in the top of the seventh, all with two outs. Freshman Katie Lopez drove in the first run of the inning, with a double to right field that plated sophomore Morgan Welch.

Sophomore Megan Anthony would follow that up with a single through the right side of the field that knotted the game up at six runs a piece, and sophomore Cheyenna Newman would temporarily play the role of the hero with an infield single to third base that scored Lopez and made it 6-5 in favor of the Panthers. 

Sacramento's jubilation didn't even last seven pitches as San Mateo's Davis belted a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence to tie the game back up at 6-6 to lead off the bottom of the seventh.

In the top of the eighth, the Panthers would draw a one out walk, but that was the extent of their attempt at regaining the lead. The Bulldogs meanwhile would load up the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Freshman Kali Sargent got out of the jam though, getting a shallow pop to the short stop who stood on the edge of the grass in left field, and striking out the final batter of the inning to send it to the ninth.

Sacramento would return the favor in the top of the ninth, filling up the base paths with two outs. The Panthers had similar success though, as the inning ended on a groundout. In the bottom of the ninth, Sargent gave up a leadoff walk, but got a foul pop out, fly out to left, and a lineout to first to end any chance of the Bulldogs winning the game then.

In the top of the 10th meanwhile, Sacramento picked up where they left off the ninth loading the bases back up, this time with one out. Unlike the ninth though, the Panthers got the go ahead run when Lopez lifted a deep enough fly ball to left field that brought in Leffle from third to make it 7-6. In the bottom half of the inning, Sargent went to work against the top of the Bulldog order. She got a pair of groundouts and a pop out behind second base to seal the victory for the Panthers.

Sargent (26-5) pitched 5.1 innings on the evening, giving up five hits, six runs (only two of which were earned), an unusually high four walks, and recorded three strikeouts. Sophomore Jostyn Bebout went 4.2 innings, scattering seven hits, with no runs, and no walks.

Sacramento City College advances to the State Championship Game for first time since 2004, which was the last time, the Panthers won a State title. The state title game is set for a 12:00 PM first pitch on Sunday.

Sargent's Gem Sends Panthers to Semi-Finals With San Mateo

Bakersfield, CA - Big 8 Conference Pitcher of Year Kali Sargent (25-5) gave up just two hits, allowed just three total base runners, and notched her ninth shutout of the season as she helped send NorCal #3 Sacramento City College to the semi-finals of the 2016 CCCAA State Softball Championships in a 2-0 win over SoCal #1 Cypress College.

The game featured very little offense through the first four innings. Sacramento City failed to take advantage of a pair of fielding errors by Cypress in the top of the first, and the Chargers didn't even put a runner on the base paths until the bottom of the third.

The lone run through the first half of the game came in the top of the third, when a double to right-center off the bat of sophomore Kaitlyn Leffle brought in freshman Catie Gravel to make it 1-0 in favor of the Panthers. The Chargers' best chance in the early going was a two-out rally in the bottom half of the third. Cypress got back to back singles by sophomores Alexis Carmona and Justice Walker, but the threat ended on a foul out to freshman Panther third baseman Gabi Avila.

Sacramento would tack on an insurance score in the top of the sixth inning when freshman Gabby Ortiz singled back up the middle of the field plating sophomore Cheyenna Newman to make it 2-0. That's all they needed as Cypress managed just one more base runner over the final two innings of the game.

Sargent would finish the game with six K's on the night right at her season average of K's per game. At the plate, Leffle finished 2 for 4, while Newman was 2 for 3.

The win by Sacramento, it sets up an all NorCal Semi-Final, the first of it's kind in the current four-team tournament format. Sacramento and San Mateo, who have not squared off this season, will be back out at the Dean and Ada Gay Sports Complex Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM with a berth in the State Championship Game on the line. Cypress College and Santiago Canyon College will meet at approximately 5:30 PM with the loser of that contest being sent home. 

Six-Run Sixth Puts San Mateo in Semi-Finals

Bakersfield, CA - College of San Mateo, the #1 seed out of North California, advanced to the semi-finals of the 2016 California Community College Athletic Association State Softball Championships on Friday afternoon after overcoming a two runs deficit with six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Bulldogs took advantage of a pair of fielding miscues in the inning by South #2 Santiago Canyon College to get the advantage they needed, and then held on after a last ditch effort by the Hawks for an 8-6 win.

San Mateo landed the first blow of the weekend, when co-State Player of the Year and Bulldog leadoff hitter sophomore Harlee Donovan led the bottom of the first off with a walk, stole second, and then moved to third on a 4-3 groundout. Standing on third and with two outs, freshman Samantha Dean hit a hard ground ball back up the middle, driving in Donovan and making it 1-0.

The game would stay at that score through the second and third innings, until Santiago Canyon took their first lead with a pair of unearned scores in the top of the fourth. The first came via an RBI single off the bat of freshman Alyssa Sojka that plated freshman Manoa Weijgertse. The second was on a single to center field by sophomore Brittney Howe that brought in Sojka.

The Hawks would add to their lead in the top of the fifth on a 2-RBI double to center field from sophomore Kaitlyn Lanksbury making it 4-1. The Bulldogs rallied with one score in the bottom of the fifth, when Donovan hit an RBI single to left that scored sophomore Riley Wells and made it 4-2.

The Bulldogs would seemingly blow the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning when they scored six total runs, on just three hits, taking advantage of two errors by Santiago Canyon. Sophomore Kaitlin Chang, freshman Meagan Wells, and sophomore Christy Peterson all recorded RBIs in the inning as San Mateo went up 8-4.

Needing a miracle comeback, Santiago Canyon nearly got just that as Lanksbury belted a single to center field that drove in a pair with one out. That would be all the runs the Hawks could muster though as they ended the game with the bases loaded, stranding the go ahead run at first.

San Mateo freshman Morgan Jones (22-1) picked up the win, going six and a third, giving up six total runs, but only one of which was earned. Jones walked three and fanned three. Teammate Samantha Dean earned her third save of the season getting the final two outs of the game, also going 2 for 3 at the plate with a run and an RBI. For Santiago Canyon Lanksbury was 2 for 3 with four RBIs. 

With the win, San Mateo moves one win away from advancing to the State Championship Game for the second straight season. The Bulldogs will take on the winner of SoCal #1 Cypress College and NorCal #3 Sacramento City College, which gets under way at approximately 8:30 PM, at 3:00 PM on Saturday afternoon.