The Santa Rosa Junior College softball team fell apart late in the game in a 14-1 loss to Foothill College Wednesday in Santa Rosa at Marv Mays field.
The Bear Cubs had a rough start to their season after losing the first four games but came into the game against Foothill on a two-game win streak—defeating Mendocino College twice in a doubleheader on Tuesday.
In Santa Rosa’s win against Eagles, the Bear Cubs outscored them 38-8 in a game that was rescheduled due to rain on Feb. 14.
In Wednesday’s game, Santa Rosa looked to continue their offensive onslaught.
Unfortunately for the Bear Cubs, it was the Owls who were able to put a lot of points up in their win by relying on power hitting.
Santa Rosa held on, especially on defense, most of the game and kept it close until the sixth and seventh inning where Foothill scored a combined 10 runs.
The Owls started the game strong scoring two early runs in the first inning.
Santa Rosa’s defense was on point in the second inning as the Bear Cubs snagged every ball Foothill put in play, shut out the Owls and kept the pressure on the offense.
After allowing Foothill to score another run in the third inning Santa Rosa was down 3-0.
But the Bear Cubs finally showed some signs of life on offense in the fourth. Maddy Lentini reached first base, after the Owls walked her, and then stole second base to put her in scoring position. Sophomore Bethany DeVault took advantage and drove Lentini home with a good hit at the bottom of the inning.
“We’re young but the thing is we played five good innings,” said Santa Rosa coach Phil Wright. “The ball got away from us a few times and we didn’t do the simple things in the sixth and seventh innings.”
The Bear Cubs allowed the Owls to score another run in the fifth but it all truly fell apart in the sixth and seventh innings where Foothill scored three runs and seven runs, respectively.
Santa Rosa forfeited the game in the eighth inning when the outcome became clear and a comeback was out of reach.
“It’s definitely a learning experience. We are a young team and we will take it and practice to fix those small things,” said freshman pitcher Sierra Shanoff who had a rough day on the mound but did record five strikeouts.
The Bear Cubs next play a double-header against Gavilan College at 10 a.m. and College of the Redwoods at 2 p.m. on Feb. 22 at home.
“[Redwoods] is my home-team so I’m pretty excited to play them. It should be a good game and we should be able to get a win,” said sophomore outfielder Sydney Arnold.
