Bobcats growl back

The Saddleback softball team won two games over Riverside City College on Friday in Riverside.  The Bobcats bounced back from a loss on Tuesday to take the three-game series from the Tigers.

Saddleback and Riverside City battled back and forth in the opener, with the Bobcats pulling out an 8-7 win.  Game two had a different feel as Saddleback ran away for a 7-3 win.

Saddleback laced up their hitting shoes, combining for 18 hits over the two games.  The Bobcats used the long ball, launching three homers for the day.  Mia Calderon blasted a home run in the opening game while Averi Moon and Sofia Krause both went deep in game two. 

Calderon's homer in the opener gave Saddleback a 7-4 lead in the top of the fourth inning.  The Bobcats would then hang on for the win as Macy Smith came on in relief of starter Alexa Pfutzenreuter and pitched the final 5.1 innings to pick up the win.

Moon's homer came in the bottom half of the first inning in game two and gave Saddleback a 3-2 lead.  The Bobcats would never trail the rest of the way, tacking on two more runs in both the second and third innings in grabbing a 7-2 advantage.  Krause's homer was a two-run shot in the third. 

Moon wasn't finished, pitching 6.1 innings in game two in picking up her first win of the season on the mound.  Moon struck out three while allowing only four hits for the game. 

Saddleback is now 6-7 overall and 2-1 in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play following the win.  The Bobcats will resume OEC play next week with a three-game set against Orange Coast College (10-2, 3-0).  Saddleback will host Orange Coast on Tuesday (2:30 PM) and Friday (2:00 PM) while traveling to Costa Mesa on Thursday (2:00 PM).