CYPRESS, CA – The Cypress College Softball team (40-5, 21-0) will advance to the State Championship Tournament after sweeping through the CCCAA Southern California Super Regional in three games. After defeating Fullerton and Cerritos, the Chargers clinched their ticket to Bakersfield after defeating #4 Palomar College 3-2 on Sunday with a walk-off single by sophomore catcher Jezz Portillo (1-for-3). Freshman Ashley Ramirez (4-0) earned the win after pitching 2.1 scoreless innings and giving up only one hit in relief.
On Friday afternoon, the Chargers defeated conference rival #10 Fullerton (24-19) in the first game of the Super Regional, 5-0. Vanessa Ledesma pitched 4.2 scoreless innings to get the victory and Ashley Ramirez clocked in 2.1 innings of relief. Holding a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, Amanda Toledo hit an inside-the-park homerun with a deep line drive in front of the center field fence to give Cypress a 3-0 lead. The Chargers had a 2-run rally in the fifth inning sparked by Jezz Portillo (1-for-3). With a runner on first, Portillo hit a double to deep center field to score the runner and advanced to third on the throw. Jenny Vazquez (1-for-3) followed with a single to center which gave the Chargers a 5-0 lead.
Vanessa Ledesma (22-2, 1.81 ERA) pitched a seven inning shutout against Cerritos on Saturday to lead Cypress to a 4-0 victory. With the bases loaded in the second inning, Alexis Carmona (1-for-3) looped a single to center field to give Cypress their first run. The following inning with runners on first and third, Jenny Vazquez (1-for-2) hit an RBI single to double their lead. The Chargers added two runs in the fifth inning to keep the game away from Cerritos.
Portillo was the hero on Sunday afternoon, lining a walk-off single to center field to score the winning run against Palomar. The Chargers got on the board early in the first inning with bases loaded when Ally Painter (1-for-2) knocked a single to center field to bring home two runs. The Comets responded in the second inning with the bases loaded and one out when Summer Evans (0-for-2, RBI) hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score their first run. Vanessa Ledesma managed to escape the jam by inducing a fly out to center field. The Comets tied the game in the fifth inning when Iesha Hill (1-for-4) hit a two-out single to score a runner from second base. However, the Chargers managed to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh to set Portillo up with the game-winning hit.
The Chargers will return to the State Championship Tournament with high expectations. The Tournament will take place Friday, May 20-Sunday, May 22 at Bakersfield College in Bakersfield, CA. Game times and match-ups are TBA.
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