The Vaqueros softball team won 8-0 in its first of two games against Cuesta College on Tuesday afternoon at Pershing Park, but the momentum did not continue into the second game causing a 3-1 loss.
This was the first time this season that the two teams had played one another and they will play again in April. Cuesta is ranked number one in the conference and winning both of these games would have put the Vaqueros into the number one spot.
“Going into the first game we were definitely excited and hungry for the win,” said first baseman Alexa Sorensen. “We knew we were prepared and we definitely came out strong from the beginning.”
As City College took the field to start game one of the Doubleheader Pitcher Madison McNamee delivered three straight innings without letting a single runner on base. While their defense was working amazingly so was its offense. Sydney Townes dominated quickly with a double to start the Vaqueros off strong. After a hit by Maggie Jo Jackson moved Townes to third base, she stole home for the first run of the game.
The momentum continued for Townes in the second inning when she hit a single to score Alyssa-Rae Jewell for the second run of the game.
As Cuesta continued to get shutout during the third inning the Vaqueros were able to score another run when Delainy Ogan hit a double to bring in Monica Salas.
Heading into the fourth inning Cuesta was able to get a runner on base but still not score against the aggressive defense for City College. Sydney Townes once again proved her offensive abilities by hitting another double to score two more runs for the Vaqueros as they came up to bat.
Cuesta went on to suffer from four fielding errors, allowing City College to score a total of four more runs, which led into the fifth inning with a score of 7-0.
McNamee continued her shut out of Cuestas offense with two fly outs and one strikeout to end Cuesta’s final at-bat. The Vaqueros were able to seal the deal with one more run to win the game by the eight-run rule.
“I definitely thought that they would’ve been a lot stronger,” Sorensen said. “You know, they are known for being first place.”
After game one the Vaqueros proved how prepared they were to take on a number one ranked team as they prepared for game two.
“If we can win this next game it would put us in first place for our conference.” Sorensen explained between games.
Unfortunately Cuesta scored two runs to start off the second game. The Vaqueros fought back when second baseman Alyssa-Rae Jewell bunted onto first and stole her way home to score a run. With Cuesta playing much stronger they scored another run before they shut out City College from scoring for the remainder of the game.
“We stopped our own momentum,” said head coach Paula Congleton. “Offensively, and mentally we just didn’t show up which is very frustrating.”
After six scoreless innings for both teams the game ended with Cuesta on top 3-1. While they have not surpassed Cuesta in their conference the Vaqueros still have a winning record of 20-7 on the season.
“Tomorrow we’re going to talk to them about their mental approach to the double header, we seem to struggle with two games in a row” said Congleton. “We’re gonna just get their heads right before Thursday.”
The Vaqueros will face Ventura College at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, at Pershing Park.
