Lassen Rallies Past Jaguars in Nightcap, Completes Doubleheader Sweep with 11-4 Victory

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San José City College briefly appeared poised to salvage the second half of its home doubleheader Friday, but a five-run seventh inning by Lassen College put the game away and completed a sweep at Lady Jag Field, 11-4.

The Jaguars (4-5-1) had clawed back to tie the game at 2-2 after three innings, but the Cougars (7-4) proved too powerful down the stretch, scoring nine unanswered runs from the fourth inning on to hand San José its second loss of the day.

Lassen shortstop Taylor Lauritsen delivered the knockout punch, crushing a three-run home run in the top of the seventh to turn a manageable 8-4 deficit into an 11-4 final. Lauritsen finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. First baseman Jhan'z Kaawa-Kawai was equally relentless in her second game of the day, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Kaawa-Kawai hit her solo shot in the fifth inning to extend what had been a one-run Lassen lead to 6-2.

The Jaguars had reason for optimism early. After Lassen plated two runs in the third, San José answered immediately. Shelby Apostolo tied the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly that scored Arianna Vergara, who had reached via one of her three walks on the afternoon, and Belle Walker followed with an RBI single to even the score. The rally briefly quieted a Lassen offense that had already posted 15 runs on the day.

But Lassen quickly reclaimed control in the fourth, adding three more runs on a sacrifice fly from Alyssa McOmie and a two-run single by Nadia Velazquez to go ahead 5-2. San José starter Makenna Sieling, who took the loss (0-1), allowed five runs on six hits in 3.1 innings before giving way to Alia Casarez, who was touched for eight runs on six hits over her three innings of work.

San José made one final push in the sixth when Jaelynn Corona laced a two-run triple to center field, scoring Kimora Perez and Walker to cut the deficit to 6-4. But Lassen's seventh-inning outburst — featuring an RBI single from Tristyn Lenz, an error-aided run, and Lauritsen's decisive blast — ended any hope of a Jaguar comeback.

Vergara was a bright spot for San José, reaching base three times on walks and scoring a run. Walker finished 1-for-2 with an RBI, and Corona's triple was the team's most impactful hit of the game. The Jaguars were also active on the bases, stealing three bags via Chevelle Quistian, Perez, and Izzy Gutierrez, but could not convert the baserunning into enough runs.

Two errors by San José, including one by Quistian that led to an unearned Lassen run in the seventh, proved costly to the Jaguars.