Gauchos sweep past Vaqueros

The Saddleback softball team swept a double header against Santa Barbara City College on Saturday in Santa Barbara.  The Gauchos opened with an 8-1 win before beating the Vaqueros 11-2 in five innings in game two.

Saddleback had now won three straight games and did it with style points on Saturday.  The Gauchos took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning in game one as the first four  batters in the inning reached base in taking the lead.  The big blow was a bases-loaded double from Mackenzy Peak that cleared the bases.

Saddleback was in cruise control the rest of the way with ace Veronica Belleza on the mound.  Belleza pitched five innings, surrendering three hits and one unearned run while striking out 12 Santa Barbara batters.  She gave way to Annalie Benjamen in the sixth inning, who gave up just one hit over the final two innings while getting three strikeouts of her own.

Saddleback outhit Santa Barbara 7-4 for the game, with Mikayla Mattocks and Benjamen both leading the team with two hits apiece.

In game two, Saddleback fell behind 2-1 after one inning before striking for four runs in the top of the second inning to take control.  The Gauchos made the best of three walks and an error from the Vaquero defense in making Santa Barbara pay a price.  The Gauchos cashed in when Mattocks was walked with the bases loaded, and later took a 5-2 lead after a single from Rachel Varela scored Vanessa Alvarran.    

Saddleback extended the lead to 7-2 in the top half of the fourth inning when Benjamin drove in both Alvarran and Varella on a single to right field.  The Gauchos iced the game in the top of the fifth inning when they scored four more times for an 11-2 lead.  Saddleback had two hits in the innings as Santa Barbara had a bevy of miscues in the field.  The Vaqueros committed three errors in the inning while the Santa Barbara pitching staff walked two more Gauchos as things unraveled quickly for the home squad.

Saddleback outhit Santa Barbara 8-3 for the game, with Alvarran, Emma Estep and Benjamen all collecting three this apiece. 

Saddleback started Benjamen on the hill in game two and she pitched through the third inning before giving way to Belleza.  The duo combined for five strikeouts as Belleza improved her earned-run scoreless streak to 18 innings on the year.  Belleza has struck out 41 batters in 18 innings for the year, with a perfect 0.00 ERA.

Saddleback (4-2) will play next on Wednesday when they host Southwestern College at 3:00 PM.