Celeste Acosta and Alyse Harris blanked Moorpark in a WSC Gold Division doubleheader on Tuesday, leading SBCC to shutout wins of 2-0 and 3-0 at Pershing Park. The Vaqueros (21-15, 11-5) solidified their hold on second place in the division race. Moorpark fell to 14-22-1 and 7-7.
SBCC has won three in a row (all by shutout) and nine of 11.
Acosta (10-5) tossed a three-hitter in the opener, striking out nine and walking three. Shortstop Mariah Coyazo, one of two sophomores playing their final home game, had two doubles and drove in Kylie Onstott with the first run on a double in the fifth inning.
“These were our last home games and we all want to go to the playoffs,” said Coyazo. “My teammates were cheering me on. That pumped me up.
“Celeste was hitting her spots and her changeup was killer.”
Harris posted her second straight shutout in the second game, holding the Raiders to four singles. She escaped jams with runners on first and second in the fourth and seventh innings.
It was the 13th complete game for Harris (10-10), who struck out five and walked one.
Catcher Lauren Larabell went 4-for-6 on the day (2-3 in each game) to raise her team-leading average to .423. Samantha Cabada drove in Bryn Thompson with the first run in the third inning of the nightcap and Larabell followed with a two-run double to left.
“I was able to capitalize on some of their misses,” said Larabell, a freshman from Hesperia. “They missed low and middle and that’s one of my favorite pitches. Our team was really patient with runners on.
“These were two really big wins that should take us to the playoffs. We owed them something because they shouldn’t have beat us the last time.”
Cabada was 2-3 in the second game and scored a run for the Vaqueros, who didn’t commit an error in 14 innings. The pitchers held Moorpark scoreless and only allowed seven singles.
“To give up just seven hits on the day is really good,” said coach Paula Congleton. “Our pitchers were hitting their spots and getting a lot of groundouts. They both did a phenomenal job.
“It took us a while to score in the first game. In the second game, the kids were nice and relaxed and started to hit the ball better. It was a great day.
“These were two huge wins. We really had to win both to help our playoff chances.”
SBCC completes the regular season on Tuesday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at L.A. Pierce.
LINE SCORES:
First Game
Moorpark …….. 000 000 0 — 0 3 0
SBCC ..…….….. 000 011 x — 2 7 0
Lewis and Lee; Acosta and Larabell. W–Acosta 11-5. L–Lewis.
2B–SB: Coyazo 2.
Second Game
Moorpark …….. 000 000 0 — 0 4 2
SBCC ..…….….. 003 000 x — 3 7 0
Whiteside, Barbato (3) and Lee; Harris and Larabell. W–Harris 10-10. L–Whiteside.
2B–SB: Larabell.
Records–M 14-22-1, 7-7 WSC Gold; SBCC 21-15, 11-5.
