Long Ball & Lee Push Hawks Past Bakersfield

The Santiago Canyon College softball team hit the road for the first game of the season on Friday night as they faced off against the Bakersfield College Renegades. Runs were at a premium, but a long ball off the bat of freshman catcher Tasneem Kerdiva and a gutsy pitching performance handed the Hawks a 2-1 victory.

After a quick top of the first inning, the Hawks went to work the following frame and etched their first run of the season via long ball. T. Kerdiva connected for a solo shot with one out in the inning to snag an early one-run advantage.

From then on, the game was in the hands of sophomore hurler Madison Lee.

After allowing a hit to the first batter she faced, Lee went on to retire the following five batter while striking out three. Her battery mate, T. Kerdiva, helped her out by hosing a potential base runner in the top of the first inning.

Bakersfield tied the game up after a fielding blunder in the bottom of the third inning. The Hawks committed three errors in the frame to allow the unearned run.

Nevertheless, Lee continued to mow down the Renegades by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the fourth inning and the sixth inning.

The Hawks took the lead in the top of the seventh inning after Lee singled to right field then promptly moved up to second base on an error by the right fielder. She later came around to score on an error by the first baseman on a batted ball from freshman first baseman Kaitlin Murphy.

The Renegades threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning by loading the bases, but Lee thwarted their comeback hopes by forcing a groundout to freshman defensive replacement Millie Maher at shortstop to secure the 2-1 win.

Seven errors were committed in the contest, three of which we tabbed to the Hawks.

Sophomore second baseman Selena Salcido and T. Kerdiva led the offensive brigade by each going 2-for-3. T. Kerdiva had the back-breaking bomb to account for the team's lone RBI.

Lee (1-0) went the distance by tossing seven frames and fanning six.

Head Coach Brandice Cutspec earned her first career win as a head coach.