Butte College softball team stretches win streak to 7 before fading against Delta

By Joseph Shufelberger, Chico Enterprise-Record

Butte Valley >> The Butte College softball team breezed to yet another rout Monday morning in an 11-1 romp over Yuba in five innings.

But the 7-0 setback in the afternoon to perennial power San Joaquin Delta might mean even more to the host Roadrunners.

Butte kept the Mustangs within 1-0 for six innings on Monday before they mounted a six-run rally thanks in part to two errors.

"That was a tough one," Roadrunners coach Stayce York said. "Those are the kinds of programs we want to compete with, and I think we did that all the way up to the seventh."

That's when a competitive game became something else. Back-to-back doubles from Britany Heinle and Arianna Barton made it 3-0 before the defense that had backed Jessie Salsbury for six innings disappeared. Two errors helped extend the rally further as Delta even pulled starting pitcher Miranda Quesada despite her working on a one-hit shutout up to that point.

"Softball has to be 21 outs, and we came shy of that. We had 18, 19 great ones and then that last inning," York said.

Butte second baseman Allison Taylor started a 4-6-3 double play that shortstop Taylor Peters turned to keep Delta from scoring in the first inning. Then center fielder Kelsey Haigh made a diving catch running toward the infield to end a 1-2-3 sixth inning for Salsbury.

The Roadrunners' ace pitcher tallied six strikeouts with no walks while allowing six hits in her first six innings. A two-out single from Heinle drove in Peyton Rose in the second inning for the game's early run.

But Butte (7-3) had trouble getting to Quesada, who had a no-hit bid broken up by a Kelsey Mansfield single with one out in the sixth inning.

"We were working on making the adjustments," York said. "They just needed to happen a little sooner."

The Mustangs — just 3-1 on the season after Monday's play thanks to five rain outs — didn't make it easy. Nor would they. San Joaquin Delta is tied for ninth with Napa Valley in the latest California Community College Fast Pitch Coaches Association's Northern California Poll after the Mustangs were ranked sixth in the preseason state poll along with Sacramento City and Solano. Delta went 32-14 in 2014.

"I knew they were good last year, and I knew they were going to be good this year," said Salsbury, calling the game a learning experience against the best team the Roadrunners had played so far this year. "They're the kind of program that we want to be competing with 1-0 in the seventh inning."

Salsbury helped lead the Roadrunners to the postseason last season and had them challenging Delta on Monday thanks in large part to her defense.

"They were there for me the whole entire game. I couldn't be more proud of my defense for those six innings. They got me out of some tough situations, and they just caught up to me in the seventh," she said.

Butte's best chance of getting a run off Quesada came in the fourth when Peters, hustling the whole way, reached third base on a shallow fly ball that was dropped in center field to start the inning. After an extended at-bat, Taylor grounded out to third baseman Serena Hernandez, who threw to first. Peters tried to score on the throw but was tagged out by catcher Maryanne Peluso after Heinle threw home.

"Tough to swallow, but it's still early and I think we're right there," York said. "That is a great start. Our goal is to get ready for conference."

The Roadrunners continue that goal with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Napa (6-1), the team Delta is tied with at ninth in the rankings.

Monday's schedule was part of a three-team affair along with Yuba, which first played Butte before the two visiting teams continued while Butte sat out.

The Roadrunners won their seventh straight with the 11-1 rout, their fifth victory by nine runs or more. Butte scored four runs in the first inning against Yuba as Kiley Mansfield hit a two-run single and then a six-run second was highlighted by her two-run double and Cassidy Burnett's two-run triple.

Sammi Minter and Kalia Griffis each went 2 of 3 with an RBI. Peters doubled, and pitcher Kaitlyn Wright allowed one run on three hits in the complete-game victory.

http://www.orovillemr.com/sports/20150217/butte-college-softball-team-stretches-win-streak-to-7-before-fading-against-delta

photo by Bill Husa — Enterprise-Record