McNamee beats Ventura 9-1 with arm and bat

Madison McNamee tossed a three-hitter on Thursday and went 2-4 with three RBIs, including a game-ending double in the sixth that scored Maggie Jo Jackson and gave SBCC a 9-1 softball win over visiting Ventura.

"I felt pretty good on the mound, my back was a little tired after a busy week (7 games in 6 days)," said McNamee. "I was trying to keep my pitch count low and let my defense work behind me. They were solid today."

The freshman from Cabrillo High got the Pirates (12-10, 2-3) to pop-up or flyout 12 times in 18 outs. Ventura got a run in the third on an RBI double by Lindsey Dietz, then managed just one hit and three baserunners the rest of the way.

The Vaqueros (21-7, 5-2 WSC Gold) built a 6-0 lead after two innings on nine hits and one error. SBCC won for the 10th time in 12 games and boosted its home record to 9-2.

Christal Vierra drove in the Vaqueros' first run with a two-out triple in the first and McNamee followed with an RBI single up the middle. The Vaqueros scored four runs on five hits in the second inning.

Jackson led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and McNamee ended the game on the eight-run rule when she drilled a double to left-center field with two outs.

Cleanup hitter Monica Salas went 4-4 with an RBI double in the second, raising her average to .479. She leads the WSC Gold Division in batting average and RBIs (31), two more than Vierra.

The first five batters in Santa Barbara's order went 12-18 (.667) with seven RBIs. The Vaqueros rapped out 15 hits.

"Yesterday (Wednesday), we were really working on hitting in practice and it paid off today," said McNamee. "When we see our teammates getting hits, we just start feeding off that."

Jackson, a freshman left-hander from Tempe, Ariz., was 2-3 with an RBI and three runs and Sydney Townes was 2-3 with an RBI double in the second.

The Vaqueros loaded the bases with one out in the fourth and scored two more to boost the margin to 8-1. McNamee drove in Jackson on a fielder's choice and Delainy Ogan's single to right-center scored Vierra.

The Vaqueros are 9-1 in their last 10 games, outscoring their opponents 88-13. They're No. 3 in the state in 223 runs.

"When we hit, we win," said Vaquero coach Paula Congleton. "Yesterday, all we did was hit, we didn't do any defensive stuff. We needed to get some of their mechanics back in place. Any game when we're struggling and it's a 1- or 2-run game, we have a tough time winning. When we come out like gangbusters and score like we did in the first inning, then we send a message and set the tone.

"Defensively, we played pretty solidly. Maddie had a great performance today and Monica's double was a real zinger down the line."

SBCC travels to Oxnard for a doubleheader on Tuesday at 1 and 3 p.m.