Cypress Charges On; Eliminates Scrappy El Camino
Walnut, CA - On three separate occasions on Friday evening, the Cypress College Softball team (SoCal No. 3) looked like they had put away El Camino College (SoCal No. 4). Each time though, the scrappy Warriors would find away to battle back, and made a game out the third elimination contest of the weekend. Ultimately though, Cypress charged into the next round, eliminating El Camino 14-10 at the 2018 CCCAA State Softball Championships.
Cypress (39-8) would get out to an early advantage with three runs in the top of the first, two on a home run to left-center by sophomore Kellee Ross. After the Warriors got a score in the bottom of the first, the Chargers reciprocated in the top of the second via a solo shot to left by sophomore Sydney McCollum that made it 4-1. Cypress would add to the score with an RBI double and two-RBI homer to left by freshman Destiny Lucero that put the Chargers in a seemingly strong position up 7-1.
El Camino (36-12) resiliency would rear it's head soon thereafter, with freshman Kassidy Robinson giving the Warriors a big boost with a three-run blast to dead center field in the bottom of the third. In the top of the fifth, Cypress would get one run back, but it wouldn't be enough insurance as El Camino scored four in the bottom of the sixth.
Warrior sophomore Annie Adamos got the ball rolling with a RBI single up the middle of the field. Sophomore Ashley Machado hit a two-RBI double to right-center, and then sophomore Ronni Silas added an RBI single to left field, tying the game up at eight runs a piece.
The tie game didn't last long. Ross, who started the game with a two-run blast, started the top of the seventh with a solo shot to left. That wouldn't be it though, as the Chargers scored five more runs, three on a towering shot to left by Infinity Laufou. In the bottom half of the inning, El Camino would try to get a two-out rally going, with a two-RBI double sophomore Karla Calderon, but that was the last run the Warriors could muster as their season ended just shy of another big rally.
Sophomore Hailey Hoffman (14-1) would be the winning pitcher of record. At the plate, both Lafou and McCollum would go 3-for-5, while sophomore Tianna Harris was 3-for-3. For El Camino freshman Diamond Lewis went 3-for-5 with a trio of runs scored, with Calderon and sophomore Annie Adamos also going 3-for-5 at the dish.
With the win, Cypress will live to see yet another game, advancing through the elimination bracket to face the winner of Friday's nightcap at Mt. San Antonio College between NorCal No. 1 College of San Mateo and NorCal No. 2 Sierra College. The winner of that game will face Cypress on Saturday at 12:00 PM.