Hawks Sweep San Diego City with Back-to-Back Double-Digit Wins

The Santiago Canyon College softball team looked to push its record above the .500 mark Friday afternoon as it hosted the San Diego City College Knights for a doubleheader. The Hawks hammered out double-digit run totals in each game, defeating the Knights 13–11 and 10–9 to improve to 8–7 overall.

The Hawks tallied 13 hits in each contest and held off a persistent Knights offense in both games, particularly in the top of the seventh innings. San Diego City scored a combined eight runs in the final frames, but sophomore pitcher Victoria Recendez proved clutch.

Recendez (4–3) earned two victories on the day, tossing a combined eight innings and striking out seven to lead the pitching effort.

Offensively, the first through sixth hitters in the lineup combined to go 23-for-40 (.575) in the doubleheader with 16 RBI and 20 runs scored.

Alexis Chavez went 4-for-8 with two doubles, five RBI, and four runs scored, while Maya Medina followed at 3-for-8 with a double, six RBI, and two runs scored.
Allie Kirkpatrick recorded five hits in seven plate appearances, scoring four runs with a double, an RBI, three stolen bases, and a walk.

At the top of the order, Carmen Sanchez and Mikayla Martinez formed a potent duo. Sanchez went 3-for-6 with a triple, four runs scored, and an RBI, while Martinez produced a 4-for-7 line with three runs scored and two RBI.

GAME ONE

Both teams traded runs in the first inning, but a big bottom of the second propelled the Hawks ahead.

Freshman pitcher Brianna Longaker, who entered the circle in the first inning, led off the second with a single up the middle to spark the rally. Freshman third baseman Angeline Canez followed by being hit by a pitch. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, and freshman center fielder Emily Ceballos delivered the inning's first RBI with an infield single to score Longaker.

Freshman shortstop Carmen Sanchez then singled to left to plate Canez, followed by a sharp single up the middle from sophomore second baseman Mikayla Martinez to score E. Ceballos. Freshman first baseman Maya Medina lofted a ball into left that was misplayed, allowing Sanchez to score. Alexis Chavez capped the surge with a two-RBI double into the right-center gap, plating Medina and sophomore catcher Allie Kirkpatrick for a 7–2 lead.

The Knights responded with five runs over the next two innings, but the Hawks answered with another five-run frame in the fourth.

Medina lined a two-RBI double off the center-field wall to score Kirkpatrick and Martinez. She later scored on a Chavez single, and a two-out pinch-hit RBI single from freshman Violet Avila extended the lead to 12–7.

Recendez, who relieved Longaker with two outs in the third, held the Knights largely in check over the next two innings, allowing just one run.

San Diego City rallied again with three runs in the seventh, but a game-ending groundout to Martinez at second sealed the 13–11 victory.

GAME TWO

The Hawks faced early trouble in the first as Longaker walked three of the first four batters. She was relieved by E. Ceballos, who escaped the jam by forcing a groundout at home to Sanchez and a second groundout to Avila.

Consecutive singles from Sanchez and Martinez started the Hawks' half of the first, and a Medina groundout brought home Sanchez for a 1–0 lead.

The Knights took a 2–1 advantage in the second, but Santiago Canyon erupted for five runs in the third.

Medina sparked the rally with a two-RBI single to score Sanchez and Martinez. Chavez reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Kirkpatrick to score, and Avila followed with a two-out RBI double. Freshman left fielder Marriah Barron capped the inning with an RBI groundout to score Longaker for a 6–2 lead.

After San Diego City scored in the fourth, Recendez again entered in relief. The Knights added another run, but she induced an inning-ending double play to preserve a 6–4 edge.

Martinez added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Sanchez, who had tripled. The Hawks then tacked on three more runs in the sixth, beginning with an RBI double from Chavez to score Kirkpatrick. Longaker followed with an RBI triple to right-center, and Avila added an RBI groundout to make it 10–4.

The seventh proved tense as the Knights scored five runs, highlighted by a two-run homer to cut the lead to one. Recendez bore down, striking out the final batter to secure the 10–9 win and complete the sweep.