The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
CSM sophomore Nia Mapa, right, fist bumps with head coach Nicole Quigley-Borg after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning Thursday at the Dean & Adah Gay Sports Complex. Photo by Chris Mora.
On a quest to repeat as state softball champions, the College of San Mateo Bulldogs were in fine form.
CSM (41-1) came out swinging, scoring in each of the first three innings to claim a 6-2 win over Saddleback College in the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) Softball Championship Tournament opener Thursday at Bakersfield College.
Sophomore Selena Gonzales got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. But CSM’s big blast capped a four-run rally in the second when sophomore Nia Mapa connected for a two-run home run, her 18th of the year. Lilyana Williams and Alyssa Green preceded the blast with RBI singles.
Gonzales delivered a solo home run in the third to stake CSM to a 6-0 lead. It was all the runs freshman starting pitcher Lola Sierra would need, as the left-hander allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits to earn the complete-game victory.
Sierra got into trouble in the fourth when Saddleback (32-14) produced three straight singled, including an RBI single from Ehva Cifuentes-Zombulovic, with Ka’ui Garcia scoring on a throwing error to cut the led to 6-2. Sierra settled down and settled in to improve her record to 27-1.
CSM now advances through the winners’ bracket in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. Next up, the Bulldogs face Cosumnes River College Friday at 11 a.m. The two teams met in the regular season, with CSM overcoming a five-run deficit in its final at-bat to win 7-6.
