The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
Bulldogs softball team riding 38-game winning streak; end the Vikings’ at 19 in a row
Peyton Huber
Ten players have now slammed home runs this season for the top slugging team in the state.
And this may have been the most important. Peyton Huber’s three-run blast over the left field fence in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 deadlock and propelled visiting College of San Mateo (22-0) past previously unbeaten West Valley (19-1) Tuesday in a Coast Conference showdown in Saratoga.
Defending 3C2A state champion CSM extended its year-long win streak to 38 games, dating to last season and ended West Valley’s streak at 19.
The decider came on a full count with two outs and brought home pinch runners Selena Gonzales and Vanessa Mitre. Hannah Ames and pinch hitter Marilyn Rivas had singled with two outs to set up
Lola Sierra
Huber’s blast, the first for the freshman shortstop out of Vista Del Lago High in Folsom.
“She had a day all the way around,” said CSM coach Nicole Quigley-Borg, regarding her strong-fielding shortstop. “She had a great day defensively.”
CSM now had 43 home runs this season. No other California community college has reached the 30 mark.
Quigley-Borg also praised the work of sophomore catcher Love Cabanes who “did a great job behind the plate.” Love was also responsible for the other San Mateo runs, with a first inning single to bring home Ale Phillips for the initial Bulldogs lead; then a seventh inning single to score Kaylee Poulos for insurance.
Lola Sierra (Capuchino) went the distance in the circle for San Mateo allowing just four hits. A pair of doubles in the fourth inning provided the lone West Valley run, as Angelina Fulkerson brought home Miranda Temple. Sierra leads Northern California pitchers in victories with an 11-0 record.
Things do not get easier for the Lady Bulldogs as they host their first Coast home game Thursday against co-leader and state No. 7 ranked Hartnell (2-0, 21-3), which brings a 10-game winning streak to San Mateo for a 3 p.m. first pitch.
A win over the Panthers would give Quigley-Borg the 700th win of her head coaching career.
The Bulldogs entertain third place San Jose (1-0, 8-11-1) next Tuesday.
CSM and West Valley will play a return match at CSM on April 2 in the round robin Coast schedule.
