Kailey Snyder used her arm and bat to spark SBCC to a 6-1 softball win over Saddleback on Sunday and the Vaqueros went on to capture their own Bash at the Beach tournament despite losing the afternoon game to L.A. Valley, 7-2.
SBCC, Saddleback and Golden West all finished with 3-1 records in the two-day event at Pershing Park but the Vaqueros won the title, thanks to a 30-28 advantage in runs scored over Saddleback. It’s the first Bash at the Beach crown for Santa Barbara since 2006.
The Vaqueros are 17-10 on the year while Saddleback is 24-7.
“I’m so happy with our kids, that was a great win against a team that has more than 40 home runs,” said coach Paula Congleton, whose club is 11-2 at home. “My outfield has to got to be among the top three in the state. They made three catches that probably saved three home runs.”
Center fielder Joan Cannon caught two balls while falling over the temporary fence in the first three innings of the first game. Lauren Takayesu did the same thing in left in the second inning and then started a double play by catching a line drive in the fifth.
Snyder went 3-4 at the plate with two RBIs. She entered the pitching circle with one out in the fourth, her team ahead 3-1 and runners at first and third. After walking the first batter, she got out of the jam with two straight strikeouts.
“I’m always kind of nervous in those situations but I just have to picture no runners on base and act like it’s the beginning of the inning,” said Snyder, who gave up just one hit in 3 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and four walks.
Liliana Caughman (3-1) and Snyder combined on a three-hitter.
The Vaqueros took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Saddleback on RBI singles by Janelle Wong and Snyder. Takayesu doubled in the second and made it 3-0 by scoring on a passed ball. The lead grew to 5-0 in the sixth on four consecutive singles by Snyder, Kellee Venturi, Jasmyne Holmes and Takayesu plus an outfield error.
In the second game, Belen Benitez held the Vaqueros to six hits. Paty Martinez drove in a run with a single in the second to stake SBCC to a 1-0 lead. Valley answered with two in the third and added five unearned runs in the fifth and sixth on five Vaquero errors.
Did the Vaqueros run out of gas or was it an emotional letdown from the Saddleback win?
“I think it was a combination,” said Congleton. “I think we expected to win before we even played Valley. We were a little complacent, our bats didn’t come out very strong. When Valley started pushing us up against the wall, we got tight and couldn’t hit.”
Laura Cannon had two hits and drove in her twin sister Joan with the second run in the seventh.
“We would have like to have gone 4-0 but it’s still great to win our tournament,” Congleton concluded. “We told the girls not to let one game take away from a great weekend. We scored a lot of runs with a lot of great hitting and great defense. And we’re 11-2 at home — that’s a great record.”
The Vaqueros return to WSC play on Tuesday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Ventura.
First Game
SBCC ………….. 210 002 1 — 6 11 1
Saddleback ….. 010 000 0 — 1 3 3
Caughman, Snyder (4) and Wong; Doering and S. Bosshart. W–Caughman 3-1. L–Doering.
2B–SB: Takayesu, Sharp. HR–S: White, 2nd inn., none on.
Records–SB 17-9. SC 24-7. Gazzaniga, Carrillo (3) and Holloway; Benitez and Urena. W–Benitez. L–Gazzaniga 1-2.
2B–LAV: Raza, Prendiz. 3B–LAV: Torres.
Records–SB 17-10. LAV 17-11-1.
SBCC ……………. 010 000 1 — 2 6 5
L.A. Valley …….. 002 032 x — 7 8 0
