Gauchos defeat top-10 Grossmont

The Saddleback softball team has had an up and down season so far but picked up a big win on Saturday with a 2-1 decision over Grossmont College in El Cajon.  Samantha Molina smashed a two-run homer as the Gauchos evened their record at 8-8.

Saddleback's season has been a mixed bag so far, with big highlights and a sprinkling of lowlights.  The Gauchos picked up a nice win on Saturday, defeating a Grossmont team that came in at No. 9 in Southern California in the latest Rating Percentage Index (RPI). 

With one swing of the bat, Molina gave the Gauchos a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning and provided them with all the offense they would need.  It came on the heels of a leadoff single by Libby Riehl to start the inning, and was Molina's fifth home run of the season.

The rest was up to pitcher Nelsa Delagente, who has pitched all but 3.1 innings the entire season.  Delagente tied the Griffins in knots, striking out eight while getting out of a number of jams.  Grossmont had runners on base in all but one inning, loading the bases in both the third and sixth innings.  The lone run for Grossmont came in the seventh and final inning when the Griffins tied together two hits and a stolen base to cut the lead to 2-1.

Saddleback improved to 8-8 on the season with the win while Grossmont fell to 14-6-1.  The Gauchos are sitting in fourth place in Orange Empire Conference play heading into the week.  They will travel to Golden West College on Wednesday looking to move up in the standings.  The first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM in Huntington Beach.