Bulldogs Battle, Drop Doubleheader to No. 6 Monterey Peninsula

Freshman Shaylyn Coy limited Monterey Peninsula, the No. 6 ranked team in the state, to just two hits and struck out six, but the Lobos edged the Allan Hancock College softball team 2-1 to sweep a doubleheader in Santa Maria on Saturday. The Bulldogs dropped the opener 18-8 in six innings earlier in the day. Hancock fell to 8-12 overall, while the Lobos improved to 25-2 and extended their winning streak to eight games.

In the opener, Hancock erupted for five runs in the bottom of the first to take an early 5-3 lead. After Monterey scored three times in the first inning, Crystal Gonzalez got one back with a homerun to lead off the bottom of the first. Zaiden Bakke later scored when Jayden Andrade reached on an error to make it a 3-2 deficit. Alexis Porter added a two-run single, and Siana Castillo singled in another run to cap the five-run first. Monterey regained the lead with a three-run second against Porter. But the Bulldogs answered back with three more in the bottom of the second against Monterey starting pitcher Juliette Guerra. Freshman shortstop Adiana Pacheco clubbed a two-run single, and Andrade followed with a RBI-groundout to give Hancock an 8-6 lead. However, Monterey sent 12 hitters to plate and scored eight times to take control of the game. The Lobos added one in the fourth and three more in the sixth to take the opener 18-8 in six innings.

Pacheco led Hancock's nine-hit effort with a 3-for-3 performance with 2 RBI and two runs scored. Andrade and Porter drove in two runs apiece.

Malia Visesio went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI to lead Monterey's 22-hit attack. Porter took the loss after yielding 22 hits, 18 runs, 12 of them earned, with four walks over six innings.

In the second game, Monterey went right to work in the top of the first against Coy. Visesio stroked a two-run single to give the Lobos a 2-0 lead. It was also the last hit allowed in the game by Coy. Monterey pitcher Jesse Dupuis, who ranks among the top five in the state in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, kept Hancock off the scoreboard until the seventh. Andrade led off the seventh with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Castillo. With two outs, Gonzalez delivered a clutch RBI-double to plate Andrade and cut the deficit in half. Dupuis retired the next hitter to end the rally and seal the victory.

Coy landed on the short end of the pitchers' duel. The freshman allowed just two hits and two runs over seven innings. She walked two and struck out six. Dupuis earned her 19^th win after scattering six hits, one run, and one walk over seven frames. She fanned 10 Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs out-hit the Lobos six to two in the second game.

Hancock returns to action at noon on Tuesday, April 2, at home against Citrus College before resuming conference play at home Thursday against Ventura.