CR gets 1st win of season at home
College of the Redwoods softball got their first win of the 2024 season in a doubleheader Tuesday against Diablo Valley. After the Vikings won the first game 6-4 in extra innings, the Corsairs got into the win column in game two, with a 6-5 win.
The Corsairs dropped the opener in eight innings after the Corsairs rallied in the bottom of the 7th inning to extend the game. Freshman Maeghan Hampton reached with an infield single with two outs in the 7th and CR trailing 3-2, Hampton raced to second after the throw went past the Viking playing first base bringing sophomore Kyla Cockerham to the plate with the tying run in scoring position.
Cockerham lifted one to the outfield that fell just in front of the Diablo Valley centerfielder, Hampton easily scored from second and tied the game at 4-4. Cockerham then stole second base but the Corsairs couldn't drive home the winning run and the game turned over to the 8th.
The Vikings made good use of the extra inning, scoring on a fielding error by CR and then on a sacrifice fly to jump back in front 6-4. Three Corsair flyouts ended the game in the bottom of the inning to give CR their sixth loss in a row to start the season.
That streak would come to an end later that afternoon, with College of the Redwoods bouncing back after falling behind 4-0 in the first three innings of the second game Tuesday. CR scored six straight runs to take the lead and Diablo Valley's 7th inning rally fell just short to give the young CR team its first win in 2024.
“We are a young team fighting through struggles at the plate and on defense. We are getting better each game,” Corsairs head coach Megan Valente said. “We just have to keep working off of that.”
Freshman pitcher Nathalia Chavez pitched the first game, getting the loss despite allowing just five hits over the eight innings of work. Sophomore Francesca Hart got the win in the second game, surviving a stressful 7th inning and allowed only one run over the game's final four innings.
With the tying and goahead runners on second and third base, Hart forced a Viking to pop it up behind third base where freshman Nae-rew Martin ran over and made a running catch to end the ballgame.
Freshman twins Diamond and Jewely Bibancos-Knight both had big second games on Saturday. Jewely went 1-3 with a run batted in and a run scored while Diamond finished 2-3 with a triple and two runs batted in plus a stolen base. Cockerham had an impact on both games, going 4-5 between the two games, including a sacrifice and being hit by a pitch. Cockerham was described as a “beast on the bases” after stealing a base in each game Tuesday. Sophomore second baseman Ashley Pierce finished 3-5 between the two games and was described as “the staple in our lineup” with Pierce batting .470 through seven games of the season.
The doubleheader were the Corsairs' first games at home this season, but the team will head back on the road Friday for a road doubleheader against Monterey Peninsula. CR will be away from home again the following weekend before returning for home games March 9 against Cabrillo College.