Gauchos show no mercy on Griffins

The Saddleback softball team improved to 3-1 with a 15-7 win against Grossmont College on Friday at the Saddleback Softball Complex.  The Gauchos took advantage of 15 walks from the Griffin pitching staff in winning by way of the mercy rule in five innings.

Saddleback and Grossmont combined for 16 runs and 12 hits in the opening two innings, but it was Saddleback that held a 12-4 lead after the two frames took over an hour to complete.  Aside from the 12 hits and two errors in the opening innings, the game was marred by 12 walks to go along with it, 11 of which came by the Grossmont pitching staff.  In total the Griffins would walk 15 Gauchos on the day while using three different pitchers.

Saddleback had its share of stars on offense, but no bigger than Vanessa Alvarran.  The freshman from Martin Luther King High School in Riverside finished 3-for-3 at the plate while walking twice, reaching base in all five at-bats.  Despite her heroics on offense, it was Jillian Gellatly that may have had the most exciting hit of the day.  The freshman from San Clemente cleared the bases with a three-run triple to give the Gauchos an 8-2 lead in the bottom of the second inning.  It began what would end up being an 8-run inning for the Gauchos.

McKenna Walton pitched all five innings in improving to 3-1 on the season.  Walton settled down after a sluggish start, striking out one while walking one in picking up the win.

The Gauchos will travel to San Diego Mesa College on Monday to take on the Olympians.  Game time on Monday is scheduled for 3:00 PM in San Diego.