Cats track down Roadrunners

The Saddleback softball team won its sixth straight game with a 5-1 victory over College of the Desert on Wednesday at the Saddleback Softball Complex.   The Bobcats are now 11 games over .500 with two games remaining before the beginning of Orange Empire Conference play. 

Saddleback fell behind in the opening inning after a defensive miscue allowed the Roadrunners to take a 1-0 advantage.  The Bobcats quickly recovered when they returned the favor after Desert made a defensive error of their own.  Macy Smith made the Runners pay with a single to score Cristen Areopagita to tie the game at 1-1.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the fourth inning when Saddleback struck for a couple of runs to take the lead.  A two-out double from Malia Garcia score both Ka'ui Garcia and Mia Fogle in what eventually would be the game-winning hit.

Saddleback added two insurance runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning for a 5-1 advantage.  Malia Garcia (pictured) again energized the bats when she singled with one out in the inning.  She later came home to score on a single from Jenna Juarez for a 4-1 advantage.  The Bobcats then put the game out of reach when McKenzie Lombard singled home Sabrina Truesdell for a 5-1 lead.

Smith started on the mound and pitched a complete game in improving to 9-1 on the season.  She settled down after the opening inning, allowing just two hits over the final six innings of play.

Saddleback is now 13-2 to start the season.  The Bobcats have a double-header on Friday at San Diego Mesa College before heading into conference play next week.  The game time for the opener on Friday has yet to be determined.