Vaqueros split with Hancock, stay a game behind Moorpark

SBCC continued its trend of winning the first game in doubleheaders, then dropping the second on Tuesday in a WSC Gold softball battle with Hancock at Pershing Park.

The Vaqueros piled up eight runs in the first two innings of the opener, then held on for an 8-7 win. They scored three in the bottom of the second to tie Game 2 at 3-3 but Hancock tallied three in the seventh on two walks, two hits and two errors to pull out a 6-3 victory.

Moorpark (10-3) split a twinbill with Cuesta (9-3) and stayed a half-game ahead of the Cougars and one game in front of the Vaqueros (25-9, 9-4) with five games to play. Santa Barbara is 12-2 in doubleheaders vs. two teams this year and 3-3 in twinbills vs. top WSC teams, losing the back end of all three doubleheaders.

The Vaqueros scored six runs on eight hits in the first inning of the opener with the first six players getting singles. Hope Ballard drove in two with a double to left to make it 6-0. They added two more in the second on a sacrifice fly by Delainy Ogan and an RBI double by designated hitter Lyndsi King.

Alyssa-Rae Jewell went 4-4 in the first game and scored twice. She's No. 4 among WSC Gold batters at .422 and No. 2 in the state with 46 runs.

"We go up 8-0 in the first game and then let them right back in it," said SBCC coach Paula Congleton. "I'm really happy that we won the first game because we're happy to take any win. We've just got to figure out a way to win those second games."

Hancock (15-19-1, 6-8) got just one hit in the first four innings of the opener against Madison McNamee, a two-out single in the fourth by Judy Salazar. The Bulldogs got a walk, a bunt single and an error that scored their first run with no outs in the fifth. Schuyler Gooley walked to load the bases and Rebecca Pullen replaced McNamee on the mound.

Christabel Chavez doubled in two runs and Larissa Ostrander added an RBI single to make it 8-4. Chavez and Ostrander scored on RBI groundouts by Maggie Dasis and Salazar, cutting the deficit to 8-6.

Hancock got another run in the sixth on an RBI single by Chavez.

McNamee started the opener and pitched the first three innings. Pullen came on to start the fourth and surrendered four runs (three earned) on two hits. McNamee returned to the circle after four batters in the fifth and picked up her 15th win (15-5), giving up five runs (three earned) in six innings.

The Vaqueros had 21 hits in the doubleheader. Jewell went 4-8 on the day while leadoff hitter Sydney Townes and Maggie Jo Jackson were 3-6. King was 3-5.

In the second game, the Bulldogs snapped a 3-3 tie, opening the seventh with two walks. Salazar drove in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to left. The Vaqueros committed a throwing error on the play, bringing in two more runs. Pullen was called on to relieve. After an error and a hit, she got a 1-5-3 double play to end the inning.

SBCC  travels to Cuesta on Thursday for a key game at 2:30 p.m., then hosts L.A. Pierce in a rain makeup on Friday at noon in the opener of a doubleheader with the baseball team (Cuesta at SBCC, 3 p.m.).