The San Bernardino Valley College softball team celebrated their sophomores Tuesday afternoon in a big way, sending off the team's second year players with an 11-2 victory over Barstow College in a nonconference game between the two Inland Empire Athletic Conference rivals.
Tuesday's game was added to the schedule last week after SBVC's scheduled finale against Oxnard College was cancelled due to Oxnard being unable to field a team. Not wanting to let her sophomores to end their season that way, coach Devin Bennett searched for an opponent, and Barstow, who was also looking for an extra game, was happy to oblige. The two teams ended the game each celebrating their sophomores on the field.
Tuesday's game was also the final scheduled game at Colton's Chavez Park, as construction on the new SBVC softball complex is on track to be ready for the 2023 season.
While the teams celebrated together after the game, during the game, it was the San Bernardino offense that provided the fireworks. Sierra Banuelos (two-run shot to left) and Diana Ruiz (solo to left-center) hit back-to-back home runs in the second to give SBVC a 4-0 lead, and the Wolverines tacked on one more to lead 5-0 after two.
In the third, the Wolverines took full advantage of a Barstow mistake to blow the game open. With two outs, Banuelos hit a grounder to first that was misplayed, allowing her to reach on the error. Eileen Lopez followed with a walk, and Aniya Lane singled to center. Patricia Levi Luna stepped to the plate and launched a pitch over the fence in center for the grand slam to make it 9-0.
Barstow scored twice in the fourth, but SBVC got the two runs back in the bottom half of the inning. Audi Pettaway led off with a single and stole second. Banuelos followed with a walk, and one out later, Marlene Velasquez hit a spinning grounder between first and second for a hit, but the Barstow fielders had troubles corraling the ball, allowing Pettaway to score and Banuelos to move to third. Then, with two out, Lane chopped a ball over the middle for an infield single that scored Velasquez.
Meanwhile, the SBVC defense was clean all day. Starting pitcher Sofia Gonzalez went three innings, striking out four in a row at one point. Alyssa Fonseca and Luna each mopped up in the circle to end the season.
At the plate, the Wolverines were led by Luna, who was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs and her four runs batted in. Lane was 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI, while Pettaway was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.