The 2010 Bakersfield College softball team traveled to Cerritos on Feb. 14 to play five innings against Cerritos and Antelope Valley College and lost 12-1 and 10-0.
On Feb. 11, BC played College of the Sequoias, a rescheduled game because of weather from Feb. 9, and lost 8-1.
The softball team later played against Saddleback College on Feb. 13 and lost 11-3.
Coach Sandi Taylor talked about the past five games. “We are 0-5 and four of the teams we played were in the final eight in the South or North,” said Taylor.
“Cerritos was in the final eight of the state the last four out of five years,” said Taylor. She said the main problem when facing the other teams is they are outhitting BC.
Taylor explained her point and said, “Cerritos had six runs in the first inning on three home runs, but you only get better by playing the harder teams.”
BC played a close game Feb. 4 against Fresno City College, but came up short 8-6. In the fourth inning, sophomore catcher Jamie Dumatrait caught a throw by left fielder Jessica Newton-Smith to tag out a runner at home that kept the game scoreless.
Taylor talked about Dumatrait’s save. “Left-fielder Jessica Newton-Smith made a great play and then Jamie to hold the ball at home plate. That might be one of the plays I’ll remember for a lifetime simply because it was in front of a big crowd and opening night and the crowd kind of erupted,” said Taylor. “It was pretty exciting. It was a good play on both parts. But that’s what we are supposed to do, that shouldn’t be the exception, but the expectation, and the players responded.”
In the top of the fifth inning, Fresno City scored four runs to make the score 5-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, BC freshman Brittney Morrison was up to bat when freshman third baseman Laura Fox came in to score on a wild pitch.
Morrison went on to hit a single to bring in two runs.
“Amanda Roberts gave me an awesome pep talk, and I just went up, and I don’t think I was thinking, but it was still pretty cool to come through for my team,” said Morrison.
Up next was Dumatrait, who brought in another run with a sacrifice fly to give BC the lead with 6-5 at the end of the fifth inning. “I just knew there were runners on base, and we needed to get some runs in so I did what I knew what to do and got in there,” said Dumatrait. In the sixth inning, Fresno City’s Kathleen Hernandez hit a home run to bring in two runs and make the score 7-6. Taylor talked about the first loss of the season and what went wrong in the game.
“There was a lot of back and forth. It was a great softball game, but I think we just ran out of time to come back. That’s what we needed to see out of the team, the fight and the tenacity to never give up and especially now at 0-5,” said Taylor.
Starting pitcher Taylor Ward pitched 5 2/3 innings against Fresno City.
According to the Commission On Athletics sports website, the team’s ERA is 11.55, and the team’s batting average is .222.
The Feb. 5 game against El Camino is rescheduled for Feb. 26 at Bakersfield College.
The next home games are Feb. 18 against Santa Barbara and Taft on Feb. 20.