SOFTBALL DISMANTLES CERRO COSO 14-5, THEN SWEEPS CUESTA

Marauder Softball won handily beat the Cerro Coso Coyotes 15-4 at home. AVC then started a 3-game road trip with a 2-1 and an 11-10 win against Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo.

In Tuesday's win over the Coyotes, the Marauders totaled their 14 runs off 10 hits while committing no errors. Hartley Lundquist and Natalia Hernandez led the charge offensively. Lundquist went 2-for-3 with 5 RBI, including a home run, while Hernandez went 4-for-4 with 4 RBI and 2 homers. Jolene Miramontes and Mia Romero recorded 2 RBI each, and Marley Delgado had 1. Payton Marlin struck out 3 in 3 innings, while Miramontes and Kaylee Moreno also saw action in the circle.

Game 1 of Thursday's road doubleheader against Cuesta was a defensive battle, with AVC outlasting the Cougars 2-1. The Marauders scored an unearned run in the first inning. Tied 1-1 in the top of the 5th, Analise Memory hit a SAC fly to bring in what would be the winning run. Despite being outhit 5-1, AVC held the Cougars in check, with Jolene Miramontes going the distance with 3 strikeouts in the circle.

Game 2 against Cuesta was a completely different affair with the same result, a 1-point Marauder win 11-10. Hartley Lundquist came through at the plate again with 3 RBI off 2 hits. Marissa Rodriguez hit well, going 3-for-3 with 2 RBI. Kaili York and Natalia Hernandez had 2 hits and an RBI each, and Analise Memory recorded a hit and an RBI in the win. Payton Marlin struck out 6 batters in 5 innings for her conference-leading 9th win of the season. She also leads all WSC South pitchers in strikeouts with 57, followed by Jolene Miramontes with 46. Miramontes struck out 2 in 2 innings for the Game 2 save.

Natalia Hernandez continues to lead the conference in two categories: batting average at .585 and home runs with 6. Marley Delgado leads the conference in RBI with 27, followed by Hartley Lundquist with 25. Delgado also trials Hernandez in home runs with 5. In addition to several individual conference leaders, AVC also leads the 3C2A as a team in several categories, including RBI (161), home runs (69), slugging percentage (.664), on-base percentage (.495), and XBH (69).

The Marauders have won 7 straight and are 15-2. They'll play Santa Barbara on the road before returning home to face Mt. San Jacinto on March 4th at 2:30 pm.