MARAUDER SOFTBALL BACK TO WINNING WAYS

Photo by Bruce Jacobsen

RIVERSIDE - Paige Johnson added two more RBI to her state leading 29 to help lead the Maraduer softball team to a hard-fought 6-5 victory against host Riverside College, Thursday afternoon.

Johnson, who has a hefty lead in the state in RBI and is also the state leader in home runs with five, finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored. Katie Wesier also collected two hits for AVC.

The Marauders led 4-0 entering the bottom of the third inning, including two in the top of the third following a triple by Dolly Stevens and an RBI double by Johnson. However, the Tigers chopped that lead in half by scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the third inning.

"It was a nail biter, but were able to come through with a win on the road," AVC head coach Cindy Vargas said.

The Marauders seemingly had a comfortable 6-2 lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning, but Riverside countered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. AVC got in a bit of a jam in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runners on and two outs. Kyrstan Cook pitched out of the jam and was able to get the final out following a ground ball to Elise Moore to seal the victory.