SBVC (15-22; 10-5) took their show on the road for the final time in the Foothill Conference, taking on their regional rival, the Rancho Cucamonga Chaffey Panthers (26-12-1; 11-4).
The San Bernardino Valley College Wolverines traveled to Chaffey to face the Foothill Conference's first-place team Friday, needing to win both games of the doubleheader to keep any playoff hopes alive. After losing to Chaffey at home on March 2 by a score of 11-2, SBVC was in a difficult position, sitting at 8-5 in conference and a three-way tie with Barstow and Rio Hondo for second place.
Valley came out strong in the first game but fell behind 4-2 after Chaffey picked up a pair of runs in the fourth inning. But then the Wolverines struck quickly and often, scoring 7 runs over the final three frames to break open the game and pull out a 9-5 win.
Right fielder Selena Roldan (San Bernardino Cajon) led the way with a double, three hits and an RBI while third baseman Alex Woods (Riverside John W. North) chipped in with a pair of hits and an RBI. Terilyn Baude (San Bernardino Cajon) tossed a complete game, scattering nine hits for her 14th win on the year.
The second game proved to be a defensive fight as SBVC was able to put one on the board in the third inning when a Savanah Guzman (Redlands HS) double (her school-record 17th on the season) scored Desiree Donley (San Bernardino Options 4 Youth), who had reached after getting hit by a pitch.
Meanwhile, Baude continued to dominate the Panthers, throwing six scoreless frames with no walks. Valley College added a pair of runs in their half of the sixth when Alex Woods knocked in Guzman, who had picked up her second hit of the game. That was followed by a double by Erin Alvizo (Fontana Kaiser HS) to score Destiny Flores (Rialto Eisenhower).
Chaffey finally picked up an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh before SBVC closed the door for a 3-1 victory, giving Baude her 15th win (the fourth best single season win total in SBVC softball history). The win puts SBVC in second place in the Foothill Conference at 10-5, with an overall mark of 15-22. Chaffey drops to 11-4 in conference but was able to clinch the number one conference seed for the upcoming playoffs.
Valley's playoff hopes ride on the outcome of Monday's Rio Hondo at Victor Valley contest. If Rio Hondo wins, they will also move to 10-5 in conference play, and pick up the number two seed by virtue of winning two of the three contests with SBVC.
San Bernardino finished their season by winning eight of the final ten games and has now put together three straight seasons of finishing in the top two in the Foothill Conference, a feat last accomplished nearly thirty years ago (1987-1989). SBVC has won 58 games in those three campaigns, putting Head Coach Jerry Tivey in third place on the all-times win ledger, behind Kristin Hauge (70 wins in five years) and Sue Strain (64 wins in three seasons).
Photo by Wade Byars.
Information, Photos & Story provided by SBVC Sports Information.