Hancock Softball Hosts Super Regional May 8-10 for a Spot in CCCAA State Championships

Allan Hancock College will host three other teams in one of two Southern California Super Regionals set for Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10. The winner of the double elimination regional will advance to the CCCAA State Championships in Bakersfield the following weekend. The Bulldogs welcome in three Orange Empire Conference teams, league champion No. 3 Cypress (34-8), No. 10 Santa Ana (26-13) and No. 9 Santiago Canyon (28-13).

Hancock faces Santa Ana at 2 p.m. on Friday, while Cypress and Santiago Canyon play at 4 p.m.

Super-Sized Season:

The Bulldogs enter the Super Regional on a 33-game winning streak and an overall record of 35-2-1.  Hancock, the second seed, eliminated No. 15 San Diego Mesa in two games, 10-1 in five innings and 8-1. Katie Chenault drove in three runs in the opener and threw two complete games. She allowed three hits in both games and did not walk a batter. The sophomore struck out four in the opener and 10 in the second game to give her a state-leading and program record 383 strikeouts this season. Judith Salazar went 3 for 7 in the series with a double, triple, home run and 5 RBI. Shortstop Missy Regalado went 3 for 4 with four runs, 2 RBI, two walks and two RBI. Second baseman Michaela Valencia drew six walks, scored three times and stole four bases.

Orange Empire Conference Trio Headed to Hancock:

Santa Ana is coming off a 5-4 eight inning win, and a 13-3 victory over No. 7 Mt. San Antonio College. Emily Whitecavage leads Santa Ana with a .456 batting average, 40 runs, 10 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 20 RBI, 36 stolen bases and 25 walks. Whitecavage was just named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's All-American Team for the second straight year. Annie Dowling, Santa Ana's second NFCA All-American, is hitting .347 with six doubles, 22 RBI and 27 runs scored. The Dons have drawn 156 walks and struck out just 128 times.

Cypress has won six straight games, including 13-0 and 4-1 victories over Rio Hondo in the first round. Cypress has seven starters hitting .317 or higher. Taylor Pierce, another NFCA All-American, leads the Chargers with 12 home runs and 46 RBI to go with a .392 average. Alejandra Guillen leads the squad with a .435 batting average, while third baseman Tobi Salzman enters hitting .423 with six home runs and 39 RBI. Pierce is 17-5 with 128 strikeouts in 124 1/3 innings and a 2.36 ERA. Taylor Ebner is 10-2 with a 3.40 ERA.

After dropping the opener 6-5, Santiago Canyon won twice last Sunday, 4-0 and 10-2 over No. 8 Saddleback to advance into the second round.  Offensively, the Hawks are led by Jessica Daniel who is hitting .455 with nine stolen bases. Alex Guerra is hitting .408 with seven home runs, 13 doubles and 53 RBI. Jordaen Hicks leads the team with 39 runs, 56 hits and 17 stolen bases. Three pitchers have started 10 games or more, led by Riley Nahrwold who is 13-2 with a 2.11 ERA.

Head-to-Head:

Hancock defeated Santa Ana 7-0 back on January 31, at a tournament hosted by College of the Desert. Valencia slugged a home run and went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI. Salazar went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI, while Jessica Rothanzl and Teanna Silveira also went 2 for 3. Chenault threw a six-hit shutout, walked three and struck out nine in the victory.

The Bulldogs have also played No. 3 Cypress, a game that Hancock won 1-0. Regalado went 2 for 3 and drove in the only run of the game. Salazar and Rothanzl also had two hits each for Hancock. Chenault threw a four-hit shutout and struck out 14 against the Chargers outdueling Taylor Ebner, who allowed seven hits and one run over seven frames.

Cypress went 3-0 against Santiago Canyon and 2-1 against Santa Ana. Santiago Canyon lost 2 of its three meetings with Santa Ana in Orange Empire Conference battles.

Chenault Cements Herself in California History:

Katie Chenault enters the Super Regional with 34 wins, 383 strikeouts and a 0.89 ERA. She leads the state in victories and strikeouts. She ranks sixth all-time in CCCAA history for most strikeouts in a single-season and fifth for most wins in a season. She needs three more strikeouts to move up the list to fifth and eight to take over the fourth spot. Three more victories would tie Chenault with Ashley Arnett of Antelope Valley (2007) and Patti Taylor of Saddleback (1988) for more wins in a season.  Chenault is averaging 12 strikeouts per seven innings, which is the fourth highest total in history.

This week, Chenault was one of 20 players statewide named an All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. She has also been named the Pitcher of the Year by the Western State Conference and All-Southern California Regional.

Palomar Hosts Super Regional:

Top seeded Palomar College (35-3-1) hosts the second Super Regional. Palomar faces No. 11 Cerritos (25-17) in the opener. No. 4 Citrus (32-9) and No. 5 El Camino (32-10) will play in the second game on Friday.