CYPRESS, CA- Charger softball (15-2, 7-0 OEC) won a close one against Golden West (9-8, 2-4 OEC) on Thursday, 6-3.
With welcomed blue skies over the Cypress College softball diamond, the Rustlers visited for an OEC matchup. The Chargers found themselves in trouble from an error in the top of the first which allowed a run to score.
After three frames passed, the Chargers created their response on the scoreboard. Leadoff hitter Emily Rush launched a ball off of the left field wall and landed on second to put a runner in scoring position. Two batters later, Camryn Addimando slapped a hit over the first baseman which allowed Jaylene Duarte to score the first run for the home team.
In the same inning, Kaitlyn Reynolds crossed home from a wild pitch to give Cypress the lead. With her plate appearance, Cameron Curiel grounded out which scored Addimando and made it 3-1 for the Chargers. With a great defensive play, the Chargers cut off a runner at home to keep Golden West at one run in the fourth.
With their at-bats in the bottom of the frame, the home team took advantage of multiple wild pitches which resulted in two additional insurance runs. In the fifth, Jaiden Stern laced a hit to score Lizbeth Gomez. The top of the sixth brought two runs for the visiting team that cut the deficit in half. However, the Chargers managed to shut down the Rustlers bats in the seventh to close out the victory.
Gomez had an impressive day at the plate as she went 3-4 with a run scored and was solid behind the dish. Stern, Addimando and Curiel each knocked in an RBI that contributed to the six runs. Reynolds started on the mound and got the win with her 5.1 innings pitched and a strikeout. Rush came in late in the game to pitch 1.2 innings and earned a save. The Chargers are now on their ninth win in a row and are 7-0 against conference foes.
UP NEXT: The Chargers will stay home for their next conference faceoff against Santiago Canyon on Friday, March 17th. First pitch will be at 2pm.
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