Knights softball advances to Super Regional

by the Record Searchlight

The No. 12 Shasta College softball team advanced to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Super Regionals with a 13-8 win over No. 5 Sacramento City College on Sunday.

Shasta won 11-9 Saturday and lost Sunday 6-3 to force a third game tiebreaker. The Knights came through and advanced to the Super Regional for the second time in three years and the win marked the 850th for head coach Sonny Stupek.

In the first game, Kayla Spini tied it up at 3 with a three-run homer in the sixth inning but Sac City pulled away for the win. Hailee Nicholls took the loss in the circle. Noelle Blake and Makenzie Arbiso each had doubles.

In the second game, Shasta took the lead for good with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by Jamie Weatherbee's two-run home run and then blew it open with a six-run fifth on Nicholl's two-run double.

Shasta took advantage of 13 batters that were walked or hit by pitch and five errors in the game to upset the No. 5 seed.

Weatherbee was 2 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs, Nicholls was 3 for 3 with a double and three RBIs, Marissa Duchi had a double and two RBIs, Blake was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI and Arbiso was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Nicholls gave up nine hits, walked three and struck out three to improve to 18-7 on the year.

Blake's RBI in the second game was her 100th of her career, which broke the Shasta College career RBI record of 99 set by Stacy Bolton (1999-2000).

No. 12 Shasta (25-15) is in the Super Regional at No. 1 Sierra College Friday along with No. 4 Cosumnes River and No. 6 Cabrillo College for a double-elimination tournament. The winner of the four-team tourney heads to the state finals.