SJCC Softball Jaguars Advance to Second Round of Regional Tournament with Win Over Sacramento City College

By: Malaya Street / Photo: Oscar Lopez

No. 11 Jags knock out No. 6 Sacramento City Panthers from playoffs and head to Super Regionals  

The San José City College Jags (24-16, 7-7 Coast) traveled north to the Sacramento City College Panthers (27-14-1, 14-10 Big 8) to play the first round of CCCAA NorCal Regionals in a best-of-three series.    

The Jags lost the first game 5-2 but won the second game 4-3 to tie the series, which forced a final battle. In the third game, the Jags were up 5-2 going into the top of the sixth inning, and starting pitcher Chelsea Rayment struck the final blow with her first career three-run homerun over left center.   

Rayment then shut down the Panthers in the seventh inning to win 8-4, and the Jags celebrated their comeback series victory. In the circle, Rayment pitched the full seven innings and allowed seven hits, four runs, four earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts.    

Throughout the weekend, the Jags' defense backed up their pitchers with three double plays and six diving plays for outs, and the outfielders made strong throws from the grass to get the lead runners out.   

Offensively, the Jags turned the page after a tough 5-2 loss in the first game, and their hitting became contagious in the second and third games. Some offensive stars this series for the Jags were Melissa Felix, who went 6 for 12 with two runs, one RBI, and one stolen base. Malia Venegas went 6 for 9 with one run, two RBIs, and one stolen base. Alaina Valdez went 4 for 8 with three runs, one RBI, and one stolen base. Finally, Deja Jimenez went 2 for 6 with two runs, two RBIs, one walk, and two stolen bases.  

In the third game, the Jags scored first in the second inning, which started with a leadoff walk by Rayment. Then Venegas outran the throw from third for an infield hit. Karissa Smith bunted a sacrifice to move both runners into scoring position. Jimenez softly hit a one-hopper to the shortstop, who tried throwing Jimenez out but was not in time as pinch runner Maryssa Sarinana ran safely to home.     

The Jags scored two more runs in the third inning by Venegas' two-out double to center. The Panthers responded with a two-run home run, but the Jags maintained the lead at 3-2. The fourth inning began with bases loaded for the Jags, and the Panthers' new pitcher pitched a passed ball for Jimenez on third to easily score. Valdez bunted a successful suicide squeeze after the Panthers' third baseman could not catch the ball on a diving attempt as Lareina Solis slid home.     

In the sixth inning, Rayment blasted a three-run home run to increase the lead to 8-2. The Panthers added two more runs with a home run, but the Jags' defense prevented the Panthers from creating momentum to catch up.   

The third game would not have happened if the Jags had not found the will to fight in the second game. The Panthers delivered the first punch in the first inning by scoring three runs with no outs. Haley Castro came in the first inning to relieve Valdez, creating an immediate double play and flyball to center.    

The Jags had their backs against the wall, and with their season on the line, they could have readily accepted the loss. The Jags shifted their gears in the second inning and went into survival mode.    

The second inning began with Valdez's and Venegas' back-to-back hits over the Panthers' third baseman's head. Jimenez grounded the ball down the right-field line to score Valdez. Then Smith lined the ball to left field to knock in Venegas.   

On the same play, the left fielder threw the ball past their cut-off by a few feet offline to home plate, and Jimenez saw the mistake as an opportunity to tie the game. She instinctively sprinted home, dove across the plate, and the umpire called her safe as the Jags' dugout roared in excitement.    

Felix followed with a 12-pitch battle on a 3-2 count and slapped the ball in the 5-6 hole as Head Coach Deborah Rooney waved in Smith home to successfully give the Jags a 4-3 lead. 

After Castro came in the first inning to relieve Valdez, Castro allowed three hits, no runs, one walk, and one strikeout to shut down the Panthers. 

The Jags' defense had two infield double plays and two diving plays by the outfield. For the rest of the game, the Jags gave the Panthers no opportunities for their runners to touch third base, which sealed their victory.   

The Jags' post-season continues after this upset victory against the Panthers. They will play super regionals against their rival West Valley College Vikings on May 12, 2023.