Bobcats score 10 in opener

The Saddleback softball team opened the season with a 10-8 win against Santa Barbara City College on Friday in Santa Barbara.  The Bobcats scraped out 15 hits in holding on for the win on opening day.

Saddleback trailed 2-1 heading into the third inning when they scored three times to take a 4-2 lead.  The Bobcats would never trail again, taking a 10-3 lead into the bottom half of the seventh inning before holding off a big rally from the Vaqueros.

Anne Thibert started the rally in the top half of the third inning when she singled through the left side of the infield with one out in the inning.  Thibert then stole second base and was eventually doubled home by Ehva Cifuentes-Zombulovic for the game-tying run.  It was the second of three straight hits for Saddleback as Emma Estep then came to the plate and delivered single through the left side of the infield to drive in Cifuentes-Zombulovic for a 3-2 lead.  Later in the inning, Isabel Siqueiros drove home Katie Schmidt and the Bobcats had a 4-2 lead.

Saddleback tacked on another run in the top half of the fourth inning when they had three hits in the inning.  Desiree McGruder singled home Mikayla Mattocks, giving the Bobcats a 5-3 advantage.

Saddleback blew the game open in the sixth and seventh innings, scoring twice in the sixth and three more times in the seventh for a 10-3 lead.  Thibert drove in the final run of the game when she doubled home Brenna Sickles with two outs in the inning.  It was Thibert's fourth hit of the game as she finished 4-for-4 with a walk and three runs-scored.

Another having a big game on offense was Mattocks, who finished 3-for-4 with three runs-scored for the game. 

Saddleback had a bit of a scare in the bottom half of the seventh inning when Santa Barbara rallied for five runs to narrow the lead to 10-8.  The Bobcats managed to get out of the jam when Katie Schmidt got Isabella Huckaby to ground out softly to second base with two Vaqueros on base, thus preserving the win.

Saddleback will be at home next week with home dates against San Diego Mesa (Wednesday), Palomar (Friday) and Chaffey (Saturday).  The opening pitch against Mesa on Wednesday is scheduled for 3:00 PM. 

Just a reminder, no spectators are allowed at home games until further notice.