The wind was whistling, the flags in the outfield were practically torn off the pole, and the Santa Ana winds were in full effect. A ball in play with these conditions was anything but routine.
Santa Ana College women’s softball team pulled a shocking comeback win over Santiago Canyon College on Thursday, with a final score of 6-5.
SAC started off terribly after the second inning, they were already down 5-0.
The wind started to play a factor in the game as SAC’s pitcher, Allie Guzman struggled with control.
“It was a little rough when I was on the mound trying to keep my balance,” said Guzman.
Offensively the Dons couldn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities through six innings. They were held to no runs by SCC’s pitcher Madison Lee.
With SCC being up 5 runs, they decided to switch pitchers, taking Lee out and bringing in Nadeen Kerdiya for relief.
After the second inning, SAC was still making defensive plays. Including getting the three outs quickly.
“Just keep it one pitch at a time,” said Coach Marissa Ross. “We’re trying to focus on that whether it is defensively or offensively.”
Although SAC was making defensive plays, they still struggled offensively.
All of that changed during the bottom of the seventh after Alyssa Armijo sacrificed bunted allowing Sonya Carnal and Alexis Marquez to score.
After the Dons scored back-to-back runs, this worried SCC as they decided to switch pitchers and bring Lee back in.
This would be a costly mistake for SCC because Lee wasn’t able to find her rhythm as she did earlier in the game.
Lee was starting to get nervous and that would affect her pitching as she struggled with placement.
She threw bad pitches that allowed SAC’s batters to walk with even Lee hitting sophomore Mel Avila during her pitch.
This would allow the Dons to score more runs and put even more pressure on SCC as they started losing control of the game.
With the game now tied at 5-5, sophomore Sarah Casey stepped up to the plate. Casey was up to bat and the pressure was on.
With the game on the line, Lee crumbled under the intense pressure that allowed Casey to walk due to her bad pitching.
“I strive the most when I have the most pressure,” said Casey.
Lee’s bad pitching was the final piece SAC needed to complete the comeback win. Freshman Amaya Armenta scored the final run.
SAC is looking to add a couple of wins to their record as they have a three-game series against Golden West College on March 19-22.
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