(ORANGE) – By John M. Sherrard - -The Mt. San Antonio College softball team is headed back to the CCCAA Super Regional championship game after a 7-1 win over College of the Canyons Saturday afternoon at Santiago Canyon College.
After losing in a winners' bracket game in the morning to Santiago Canyon, 2-0, the Mounties staved off elimination with the convincing win in the second game of the day.No. 3 seed Mt. SAC, however, must win both games today against No. 2 seed Santiago Canyon to advance to the state final four next weekend in Bakersfield.
Mt. SAC (39-6) struggled in the morning game with only two hits, but broke through in a big way in its first at bat against Canyons (32-14).
The first four batters for the Mounties all got a hit, including a big three-run home run by sophomore first baseman Aimee Rodriguez (John Burroughs HS), scoring freshman catcher Taylor Jaurique (Wilson HS) and sophomore left fielder Danielle Jeffress (Kaiser HS).
"Sometimes you need a little wakeup call in order to get it together," said Mt. SAC coach Ruby Rojas, referring to the 2-0 loss.
"It's (championship game) going to boil down to coaching and our girls being able to capitalize on opportunities today."
Jaurique (2 for 4, RBI), who was ejected early in the first game due to a rules violation, singled in freshman shortstop Kayla Sok (Glendora) for the 1-0 lead, prior to Rodriguez' home run. "One hit sets the momentum," said Rodriguez, referring to her three-run blast and ensuing hits in the inning. Rodriguez was recently named to the CCCAA All So Cal Region team.
"It's a special moment, especially being a sophomore, getting a chance to go all the way. "After Rodriguez' home run, the Mounties continued the hit parade scoring three more runs to lead 7-0 on four hits, including a two-run double by the speedy Sok (2 for 4). Sok, who was named to the All South Conference team led the state in stolen bases with 40 on the season. Not to be outdone was the pitching of freshman Racqual Espinoza (Golden Valley HS), scattering five hits and one run through her five innings of work.
"When we had that great first inning I felt good when I took the mound leading 7-0," Espinoza (12-1) said. "I felt relaxed and comfortable up there with my teammates and defense behind me.
"We have revenge (against Santiago Canyon) and we're hungry."
Freshman pitcher Jessica Olvera (John F. Kennedy HS) pitched the final two innings for the Mounties allowing only a single. In the morning loss, freshman pitcher Tiffany Kennedy-Cummings (Chino HS) allowed the two first-inning runs, but settled down and gave up a solo hit over the next six innings while retiring 14 of the last 15 batters.
"Tiffany did an amazing job and I couldn't have asked for a better pitching performance from her," Rojas said. Kennedy-Cummings (15-3) was recently named as state co-pitcher of the year. However, the Mountie batters will have to perform better against Santiago Canyon to advance to the championship.
For more information contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909-274-4630.