Hawks Move into First Place

The Santiago Canyon College Softball Team defeated Cypress College on Friday by a score of 3-2. The win moves the Hawks into a tie with the Chargers for first place in the Orange Empire Conference.  Cypress entered the matchup with an OEC record of 6-0 and the last undefeated team in the state before the Hawks handed them their first loss. The Hawks were trailing one game after dropping a game to Riverside City College for their first conference loss. But the win brings both teams to a 6-1 record heading into the start of the second round of conference play. 

The Hawks jumped out to an early lead putting a run on the board in the first inning with a deep sacrifice fly ball from Cozette Zoch that scored Alyssa Enriquez. Enriquez had reached on a walk and then advanced to second on a bunt and moved up to third on a base hit from Liliana Navarro. 

The Chargers responded in the top of the 4^th inning with a 2-run homerun from pitcher Janea Brannen to take the lead. SCC tied the game up 2-2 in the bottom of the 5^th inning when Alyssa Enriquez drew another walk, advanced to second on a bunt and third on a wild pitch. Liliana Navarro then hit a hard ground ball forcing a Charger error that allowed Enriquez to score. 

The Hawks took the lead for good in the bottom of the 6^th inning. Samantha Villanueva led off with a single off the left field wall. She then advanced to second on a bunt from Dana Demo and moved to third on a passed ball. Sabrina Rivera then delivered the winning single that plated Villanueva. 

Mystique Rocha recorded another win in the circle allowing 2 runs on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts. She is leading the state with 13 wins and 17 complete games.