The Bakersfield College softball team went 1-3 during the BC Classic on April 5-6.
The Renegades started the tournament by losing to College of the Sequoias 10-0 on April 5, in a game that was stopped after the fifth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.
In the loss, the Renegade sophomores Natalie Martinez and Heather Spoon each had one hit.
“It was a bad outing. We just did not have a good outing at all. We just didn’t show up,” head softball coach Sandi Taylor said of the loss to COS. After the loss to COS, the Renegades took on Riverside College, a game in which they lost 6-2.
Deborah Salicido was 1 for 3 with two RBI in the loss to Riverside. After being down by six runs, the Renegades used a four-run third inning and a six-run fifth inning to score a 10-6 victory over Pasadena City College on April 6.
“We just kept telling them that we want to win every inning and not worry about the end result or what the score is,” Taylor said following the win. “If they score, we have to answer back and score more. If they don’t score, we want to try and win that inning from them.”
Taylor felt that her team was more energized in their game against Pasadena.
Freshmen Celina Cruz was 3 for 4 with one RBI and a stolen base, while sophomore catcher Katie Sawyer went 1 for 3 and hit a two-run double in the victory over Pasadena.
Sawyer went 2 for 3 and drove in two runs, while Cruz added a solo home run as the Renegades fell 6-3 to Santa Barbara City College in their second game of the day April 6. The game against Santa Barbara took a dramatic turn. As the score was tied 2-2, Santa Barbara’s Michelle Diaz, who wore No. 1 but was listed as No. 8 on the lineup card, hit a single.
Two runners for Santa Barbara scored because of a throwing error by BC.
After Taylor discussed the call with the umpires, the umpires decided to let the ruling stand, thus, giving Santa Barbara two runs.
Taylor disagreed with the umpires ruling, “They (Santa Barbara) had written the wrong number on the lineup and the umpires misapplied the rule. They thought it was a fixable error once it’s caught. But it’s only fixable if it’s caught by your own coach. If your opponent catches it then it’s an illegal at-bat and [the batter] is out and nobody should score,” said Taylor.
Taylor outlined her team’s goal for the rest of the season.
“We have eight games to play and like I told them, we’re trying to play every game like it’s a playoff game and win each one we can. [The players] are giving it all they have that’s all you can ask.”
Not including their doubleheader at LA Valley on April 8, the Renegades record is 18-17 overall and 10-8 in the Western State Conference. The Renegades next game will be at home against LA Mission at 5 p.m. April 10.