The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.

FREMONT — After a splendid Saturday in which the College of San Mateo softball team scored 20 runs and racked up 26 hits in a pair of victories, the Bulldogs fell flat on Sunday in the March Madness tournament hosted by Ohlone College at Fremont’s Central Park Sports Complex.

Playing in its third and final pool game of the tournament, CSM dropped a 4-0 decision to Gavilan. Due to some unplayable field conditions at the facility that limited each team to two games on Saturday, the March Madness event was reduced to pool play in which every team got in three contests. The Bulldogs’ three-game run was a microcosm of their entire season.

“One minute we’re up, the next we’re down,” CSM (18-9) coach Nicole Borg said. “It’s been a major roller coaster ride for us (this season).”

The Bulldogs looked solid in beating Diablo Valley 11-1 and Feather River 9-1 on Saturday. They piled up 13 hits in each game in a pair of dominating performances. However, their bats were missing in action against Gavilan starter Melinda Ortiz, who allowed just two hits as the Rams avenged a loss to CSM the last time the teams played two weeks ago.

Bulldogs starter Callie Pacheco pitched well in defeat, yielding five hits and three earned runs while going the distance. CSM didn’t help Pacheco, finishing with two errors. The Rams also scored three runs on two hard-hit balls that Bulldog players could’ve caught but failed to do so.

“Callie came out and pitched pretty well for us,” Borg said. “She had been struggling a bit so it was nice to see her pitch strong for us. But our team was scoring three to five runs per game and didn’t get any for her today.”

Borg was particularly disappointed with her team’s lack of plate discipline.

“She (Ortiz) was obviously effective, but we didn’t have the discipline to lay off the high ball and we were swinging at her change-up with less than two strikes,” Borg said. “The list can go on and on. We definitely weren’t ready to play today and there are no excuses for that. From the moment we got here, there wasn’t a whole lot of enthusiasm. We did a great job (Saturday) but (Sunday) was a different day. You have to play at the same level every time, but we’re either too high or too low (emotionally). The best teams are consistent and if we want to reach that level, we’re going to have to play at a higher pace every time we take the field. That’s why they call it fastpitch softball.”

Borg pointed to a recent back-to-back game set that underscored her team’s inconsistency. The Bulldogs blew a nine-run lead in a 15-13 loss to Chabot, then came back to beat a strong San Jose City squad. Those results have characterized the team’s play throughout the season, including this past weekend.

While CSM ended the tournament on a whimper, the good news is Borg feels her team is capable of becoming one of the best in Northern California.

Lauren Cole has established herself as the team’s No. 1 pitcher, while Pacheco and Ashley Rincon have also pitched well at times. While the Bulldogs’ bats went silent Sunday, they’ve produced on plenty of occasions this season. Alyssa Jepsen, Meggan Craviotto and Stephanie Bautista are just three of the many Bulldog players who have had some big offensive games.

CSM left seven runners on base against Gavilan, with Morgan Elkins (single) and Nicole Cardoza (double) producing the team’s lone hits. The Bulldogs advanced a runner to third base just once in defeat. CSM starts up Coast Conference play again on Tuesday against Cabrillo. Currently it sits in second place behind Ohlone.