The City College women’s softball team won 11-7 Thursday against the Moorpark College Raiders.
A hot and windy afternoon sparked a fire in the Vaqueros, who had previously lost against Moorpark on March 12 2-5.
Moorpark currently stands second in the Western State Conference standings with nine wins and four loses while City College is tied for fifth with Santa Monica with six wins and seven loses.
“It feels really amazing to win against them this time,” said freshman pitcher Paige Powell. “I was so exhausted, working with injuries and I have pitched so many games.”
A fast section at the top of the sixth saw the first two batters on the Raiders side hit but the Vaqueros swift defense kicked in and tagged both players out at first. Powell then struck out the next two players at bat, leaving Moorpark with no players left on base and no runs.
At the top of the seventh inning Powell was at the height of her pitching streak, and eliminated all three Raiders at bat one after another, leaving the Raiders with only seven total runs for the game.
“The girls’ hard work is paying off,” said head coach Justine Bosio. “We are putting people in the right place and doing well helps keep the confidence up.”
At the top of the fifth inning, the Raiders already had two runs when a player at bat hit a fly ball to center field. The ball landed in Janet Salas’ mitt, ending the inning and keeping the Raiders total runs down to seven. The Vaqueros fans went wild on the sideline for the spectacular play.
“I enjoy being outfield,” Salas said. “I can save our team from being down runs and help keep a smaller run count.”
The Vaqueros offense did well today with six doubles hit, two triples hit and a homerun for Emily Lonetree—her fourth this season.
That home run was just at the beginning of the top of the fourth inning. The section saw Hannah Weaver hit a double and Kayana Diaz hit a triple. Both girls ran and so did Shelby Featherston. The Raiders switched pitchers last minute but the Vaqueros were already up 5-2.
“We came back fighting,” Salas said. “We are learning never to give up through errors and strikes.
“We are bringing along energy and coming together as a team, it has finally clicked and we have figured out our spots.”
After record-breaking rainfall hampered practices and games early on in the season, the Vaqueros seemed to have found their footing, winning four out of the last six games in April.
“Were going to keep carrying on accomplishments, our streak going, and the ball rolling,” said Powell. “I am excited to see how this ends up.”
The Vaquero’s next home game is 2:30 p.m. April 16th at Pershing Park.
