SACRAMENTO, CA
The Hawks started the California Community College Athletic Association Softball Championships today as they took on Butte College at CRC Stadium. The Hawks, who are seeded #3 defeated the #14 seed Roadrunners 6-1 to take a 1-0 series lead.
This playoff series is a rematch of a doubleheader that Cosumnes River and Butte played on March 9th in Sacramento which saw the Hawks take both from the Roadrunners. The Hawks finished third in the Big 8 Conference regular season standings while the Roadrunners also finished third in the Golden Valley Conference.
The pitching match-up was between the Hawks' Brittany Baroni and the Roadrunners' Trisa Kociemba. The first two innings were scoreless as both teams settled into the playoff atmosphere. The Roadrunners would strike first in the top of the third inning as Ashlynn Mock scored on a Hawks' error to give the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, The Hawks would respond in a big way as Courtney Beatty hit a 2-run home run to center field to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead after three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, Alex Scardina scored on a Kaylee Mustard ground out to first base to expand the Hawks lead to 3-1. The Hawks would explode for three more runs in the bottom of the sixth – one on an Alexus Acosta single to right field that scored Cecilia Rivera, one on a Chelsea Martinez single to left that scored Acosta and on a Taelor Ford ground out to the shortstop that scored Beatty.
Baroni got the win for The Hawks and Kociemba got the loss for the Roadrunners. For The Hawks, Beatty went 2-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, Miranda Rodriguez went 2-3, Veronica Smith went 2-3, and Acosta went 1-3 with two runs scored. For the Roadrunners, Mock went 1-1 with a run scored. Halle Brown and Bailee Thayer both went 1-3.
The two teams will take the field again tomorrow at noon for game two of the three game series.