Santiago Canyon Knocks off Second Straight #1; Advances to State Championship Against Sacramento City
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
San Mateo
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
|
Santiago Canyon
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | X | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
San Mateo
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
|
Santiago Canyon
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | X | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
San Mateo
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
|
Santiago Canyon
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | X | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
San Mateo
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
|
Santiago Canyon
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | X | 6 | 8 | 2 |
by Andrew Wheeler, CCCSIA
Bakersfield, CA - Santiago Canyon College, the #2 seed out of Southern California, knocked off it's second straight #1 seed in as many games on Saturday night when they defeated Northern California #1 College of San Mateo 6-1. With the win, the Hawks advance to the 2016 CCCAA State Softball Championship Game on Sunday afternoon against Sacramento City College at 12:00 PM.
There was a bit of deja vu on the part of Santiago Canyon in the bottom of the first inning. After leading off the scoring of the previous game with a two-run shot to right-center field, Hawk sophomore Emili Olague did the same in the bottom of the first against San Mateo with a solo shot to the exact same spot in right-center to give SCC an 1-0 lead.
Neither team mustered much of a threat in the second of third innings, but the Bulldogs had their best chance early on come in the top of the fourth. San Mateo would load the bases up with one out in that half of the inning, but sophomore Santiago Canyon pitcher Riley Nahrwold settled back in and got a pop up to third and fanned the final batter of the inning to avoid any really trouble.
In the bottom half of the inning, Santiago Canyon added to their slim lead thanks to a San Mateo error and good old fashion squeeze bunt with sophomore Kaitlin Lanksbury sitting on third base. Sophomore Krista Carranza would lay down the picturesque bunt and did so with two strikes to her name, bringing in Lanksbury and making it 2-0.
Santiago kept their foot on the gas into the bottom of the fifth, where they added three more scores. Sophomore Ashley Clark-Johnson drove in the first with a bases loaded infield single to third base. Sophomore Brittney Howe drove in the next two, with a single to center field that plated Lanksbury. and freshman Alyssa Sojka to make it 5-0.
San Mateo meanwhile, wouldn't get on the board until the top of the sixth inning. With a runner on third and two outs, sophomore Ariana Garcia stepped the plate and went to battle with Nahrwold. Garcia fouled off pitch after pitch, and after working the count full and seeing 10 total pitches, Garcia ripped the 11th to center field to make it 1-5.
The Hawks would add an insurance in the bottom of the sixth, when the third San Mateo error of the day allowed sophomore Shannon Thornton to score and make it 6-1. In the top of the seventh, Nahrwold gave up a one-out hit and nothing more as Santiago Canyon College advanced to it's first ever State Championship Game.
In the win, Nahrwold (18-7) struck out one, surrendered just one walk, and gave up eight total hits over the course of her seven innings of work. Lanksbury finished 2 for 3 with a pair of scores, and Olague was 2 for 2.