SBCC drops opener of best-of-3 series
SBCC scored twice in the first inning of Saturday’s Southern Cal Regional softball opener but host Santa Ana rallied for a 3-2 victory and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 series.
The No. 7-seeded Dons improved to 27-14. The 10th-seeded Vaqueros, champions of the WSC Gold Division, had their six-game win streak snapped and fell to 31-6.
Kailey Snyder (27-5), the Southern Cal Pitcher of the Year, only gave up four hits while striking out one.
Laura Cannon went 2-3 and drove in both Vaquero runs with a one-out double in the first inning.
Santa Ana, the fifth-place team from the Orange Empire League, scored two in the third and got the go-ahead run in the fifth. Rachel Prentice scored all three runs. In the fifth, she reached on a two-out error, went to second on a walk, stole third and scored on a wild throw during the steal.
Dons’ starter Shelly Tait left the game after two batters when she was called for five illegal pitches, resulting in automatic “ball” calls. Monica Sepulveda (8-1) tossed a four-hitter for the victory.
The Vaqueros stranded seven runners and couldn’t score on a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity in the fifth.
“Kailey was a little nervous and I think that had a ripple effect on our team,” said coach Paula Congleton.
Game 2 is Sunday at noon and if the Vaqueros win, a third game will be held 30 minutes later.
SBCC ……..….. 200 000 0 — 2 5 4
Santa Ana …… 002 010 x — 3 4 1
Snyder and Bolanos; Tait, Sepulveda (1) and Hooper. W–Sepulveda 8-1. L–Snyder 27-5.
2B–SB: L. Cannon. SA: Prentice, Hooper.
