The SBCC softball team’s offense struggled to support the Vaqueros through a 3-2 defeat against Allan Hancock College Wednesday afternoon at Pershing Park.
City College defense was led by its pitcher Calista Wendell (No.10). Wendell pitched the entire game and set a career high with 11 strikeouts.
“Calista has been doing a great job for us this year,” head coach Justine Bosio said. “She only gave up eight hits in the game and when you hold a team to under ten hits in a game you’ve done a great job in the circle.”
Hancock jumped out to an early lead when its pitcher Bailey Killough (No.10) hit a double down the right field line that brought in two runs to start off the scoring in the first inning. The Vaqueros got one back when right fielder Isabella Gregson (No.5) singled up the middle to bring second basemen Madison Foster (No.3) home to end the first inning down 2-1.
The Vaqueros tied the score the next inning when center fielder Jasmine Manson (No.16) hit a grounder to second base to score third baseman Kayla Sanchez (No.25).
After the first inning Wendell gathered herself and locked in, only giving up one run over the course of the final six innings. She pitched herself out of multiple jams with runners on second and third with one out.
“I knew since we weren’t doing well offensively that we needed to stay strong on defense,” Wendell said. “I knew that I had to take control and really focus on getting them out instead of giving up hits.”
City College’s offense just wasn’t able to get in a rhythm, scoring only six hits in the game. The Vaqueros had just one hit and four baserunners in the entire last four innings.
“We struggled making adjustments overall,” Manson said. “We saw a lot of inside pitches and it was still hard making the adjustments and we struggled to see the ball as a team.”
City College defense held the Bulldogs to three runs despite Hancock coming into the game fourth in the state with 10 runs per game. The Bulldogs had also won their past three games by a combined score of 62-12.
“We knew they were a good hitting team,” Bosio said. “So it was important to try to get ahead of batters and hit our spots. I thought Calista did a great job of doing that and we just needed to get her some more run support.”
The Vaqueros were at a disadvantage as they had to play without starting center fielder Chloe Wells (No. 18), who had to take a midterm exam.
The Vaqueros fall to 8-8 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. Friday’s home game vs Cerritos College was postponed in anticipation of rain. City College’s next game will be 2:30 p.m. vs. Cuesta College at Pershing Park.
