Bulldogs Keeps Power Going; Punches Tickets to Semis

The College of San Mateo softball team kept their power performance at the plate going on the second day of the 2019 CCCAA State Softball Championships. The Bulldogs hit two more home runs on Saturday morning, punching their ticket to the semi-finals with a 5-3 win over San Joaquin Delta College.

The action got going early when San Joaquin Delta loaded up the bases in the top of the first with just one out. Sophomore San Mateo starting pitcher Emily McAdams settled down though and got a fielder's choice groundout that got the runner at home, and a soft ground ball to third base to end the threat.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Bulldogs had their own offensive rally. Sophomore Ally Businger got on to start the game after getting hit by a pitch. Businger would get sacrificed to second, and after a groundout on the left side of the field moved to third. With two outs, freshman Amanda Weitenhagen hit a hard ground ball in the hole that scored Businger and gave San Mateo an early 1-0 lead.

The Mustangs answered in the top half of the next inning. A walk and a single put runners on first and second with one out. That brought sophomore Mikaela Ferreira to the dish. Ferreira, an All-State selection in 2019, did not disappoint hit a hard ball on the ground that travelled all the way to the in left-center field, driving in a run and ending with her standing on second.

Delta would keep the Bulldogs off the board in the second, but couldn't keep a clean sheet in the third. Businger would get on with a one-out single to left-center. Two at bats later, freshman Riley Donovan would stroll to the plate and belt a pitch over the center field fence, her third home run of the weekend, to make it 3-1. 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, San Mateo added to the lead when freshman Kaylyn Sterling became the fifth different Bulldog to go yard on the young weekend, when she hit the ball over the fence to left-center with teammate and sophomore Ally Sarabia standing on second base. 

Needing to get something going, the Mustangs finally got a charge in the top of the sixth, when sophomore Ashley Duval hit a one-out solo home run to left field. Delta would keep it going by loading up the bases with a walk, a single, and a hit by pitch. Unfortunately for the Mustang faithful, this bases loaded one-out situation ended up like the first situation, with Delta coming up empty handed.

Delta would get one more shot in the top of the seventh, when they got new life when San Mateo committed a two-out error. Sophomore Janelle Rodriguez would follow that up with a shot to left-center that hit the top of the fence, putting runners on the corners. McAdams though once again found her way out of trouble, inducing a pop up to shallow center fielded adeptly by second baseman sophomore Hailey Hiett. 

In the win, McAdams (32-1), scattered the nine hits and three walks over her seven innings of work, allowing just two earned runs. The Bulldogs had just five total hits in the game, but two were those decisive two-run home runs. For Delta Ferreira finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run. 

With the win, San Mateo (43-2) becomes the first team from the weekend to qualify for the semi-finals. They will take on the winner of the other quarterfinal between SoCal #1 Mt. San Antonio College and SoCal #3 Palomar College. The semi-final game will take place on Sunday at Bakersfield College with first pitch set for 12:00 PM. 

For Delta (37-7) they drop down into the elimination bracket and will play the winner of NorCal #4 Sacramento City College and NorCal #2 San Jose City College later this evening at Bakersfield College. First pitch for that game is set for 5:00 PM.