SOFTBALL SWEEPS LA MISSION IN CONFERENCE DOUBLEHEADER

PHOTOS by Byron Devers

Marauder Softball won both games (6-4, 9-7) of a crucial conference doubleheader against the LA Mission Eagles at home on Thursday. 

AVC recorded six runs off 10 hits with one error in the first battle. An RBI double by Cadence Crampton gave the Marauders a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Eagles battled back in the second and third innings to go up 2-1. Crampton tied it at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third. 

LA Mission came back with a two-run inning in the sixth, but AVC would respond in the bottom of the inning. Natasha Arroyo drove in two runs with a double to the fence in left-center field. Tied 4-4, Victoria Alcantar blasted a 2-RBI homer to provide the go-ahead runs in the 6-4 win. Alcantar finished 3-for-3 with 2 RBI. Arroyo had 2 RBI off 2 hits, Crampton had 2 RBI from 1 hit, and Savannah Cervantes recorded 3 hits in four plate appearances. Emmeliz Sera handled most of the work in the circle, with 3 strikeouts in six innings of work. 

The Marauders carried the offensive momentum into the second game scoring 8 runs in the first inning. Cadence Crampton started the rally with a home run. The 3-RBI shot was her sixth of the season. Crampton leads the Marauders in RBI on the year with 30. Annalise Wagner and Kylie Zinn had RBI hits to put AVC up 5-0. Natasha Arroyo then recorded her team-leading eighth homer of the season with a 3-RBI bomb, pushing the lead to 8-0. 

The Eagles rallied in the third and fourth innings to pull within a run. Kylie Zinn responded for the Marauders with an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth to seal the 9-7 win. Zinn finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBI, while Alanna Hernandez and Victoria Alcantar added 2 hits each.

The Marauders have won 10 of their last 12 contests and are 20-12 overall (11-3 in conference). They have another home doubleheader on Saturday, 4/15, at 12:00 and 2:00 pm against Fullerton College.