Cabrillo College undone by errors against top-ranked CSM Softball

The article below originally appeared in the Santa Cruz Sentinel and is being reprinted with permission.

San Mateo players welcome home Selina Rodriguez after she hit a solo home run during against Cabrillo College on Friday. (Kevin Johnson/Sentinel)

Cabrillo College softball coach Kristy Ballinger felt Sierra Clark pitched well enough to win Friday afternoon against visiting College of San Mateo, the No. 1-ranked community college team in the state.

The Seahawks’ defense and adjustments at the plate were an altogether different story.

“The defense was a disaster and offensively we didn’t adjust,” Ballinger said.

Five errors in the field combined with stranding eight runners on base, five of whom were in scoring position, led to Cabrillo’s undoing and an 8-0 home loss to San Mateo — one that players and coach alike hope provides a wake-up call for the Seahawks.

The Coast Conference crossover game not only pitted the top teams in the conference — Cabrillo is in first place in the South Division, San Mateo is first in the North — but also served as a battle of state-ranked teams. The Seahawks (25-7, 9-2) were ranked by the California Community College Fast Pitch Coaches Association for the first time this season on Monday, garnering the No. 6 spot in Northern California and No. 13 in the state.

Ballinger was hoping her newly ranked squad, fresh off a lopsided victory over Foothill, was going to come out ready to slay the Bulldogs, who had recently lost to Ohlone and Monterey. But a two-run first inning by San Mateo (30-3, 9-2), in which Cabrillo committed three errors, provided enough of a hole to sink the Seahawks.

“They were ready and it shocked them, and then it defeated them,” Ballinger said of the rough start.

“Defensively, we weren’t aggressive,” she added. “We didn’t want to field the ball. We let the ball field us.”

“You can’t allow that against the No. 1 team in the state and expect to win.”

Sherri Morioka went 2-for-4 for the Seahawks, who will look to bounce back at De Anza on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The loss moves Cabrillo into a three-way tie for first place in the CC-S with Hartnell and San Jose City.

San Mateo’s Talisa Fiame was 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs, including a two-run double to the gap in right-center during the Bulldogs’ four-run fifth inning.

Cabrillo’s Clark allowed eight runs on seven hits. But only Selina Rodriguez’s solo homer to lead off the seventh frame was charged to the San Lorenzo Valley High graduate, who also struck out four batters.

“Clark does a great job for them,” College of San Mateo coach Nicole Borg said.

“She’s a very, very effective pitcher. So being able to hit a pitcher like that, maybe early in the count and take advantage of everything the other team gives you — it doesn’t really matter who you play, that’s what you look for.”

The Seahawks had their chances to claw back into the game, as the defense settled behind Clark and kept Cabrillo within a pair of runs until the fifth inning. But San Mateo pitcher Michele Pilster, who Clark said after the game is “probably the best pitcher in NorCal,” kept hitters off balance with an impressive off-speed pitch. Pilster, who entered with a 1.22 ERA over 143.2 innings pitched, allowed four hits and two walks while striking out five.

“Cabrillo’s got a great lineup, so I thought she did a good job for the most part,” said Borg, noting Pilster’s ability to adapt to the strike zone as the game progressed.

She adapted to the situation as well, buckling down at the same time Cabrillo was threatening. The Seahawks had runners on second and third with one out in the second inning, and a runner on second with one out in the third inning. Each time, Pilster found a way out without surrendering a run. She struck out two batters in the second while forcing a pair of ground outs in the third.

“We were guessing on pitches instead of having an attacking mentality,” said Clark, who was 1-for-3 with a single. “We were hitting defensively. We were going up there timid.”

And it allowed Pilster, who issued two walks in the first two innings, to get into more of a rhythm as the game went along.

The remainder of Cabrillo’s games will come within the South Division. The Seahahawks have six games left in the regular season, including rematches at home against Hartnell and Monterey, both of which ousted Cabrillo earlier this month.

“Hopefully,” Clark said of the loss to San Mateo, “this gives us a kickstart …”