COLLEGE ROUNDUP : SCC Not in Swing, Loses Softball Title

Southern California College, the best hitting softball team in NAIA District 3 all season, couldn’t produce when it counted Saturday as Cal Baptist beat the Vanguards, 2-0, for the district championship.

It was a crushing flameout for the host Vanguards (43-10), ranked fifth in the nation in the NAIA. They had outscored the unranked Lancers, 17-1, in sweeping their four Golden State Athletic Conference games and expected to continue their dominance.

But Cal Baptist beat SCC, 1-0, Friday, forcing the Vanguards to win twice Saturday to successfully defend their district title.

SCC came through in the first game, winning, 4-0. SCC’s Beth Howard, district player of the year, pitched a two-hitter, facing only one batter over the minimum. The Vanguards scored four in the second inning against Lori Barker, the Cal Baptist pitcher, who shut them out Friday.

Barker (2-1), a rarely used junk-ball pitcher, was pressed into service during the tournament because the Lancers’ ace Kim Sico pulled a muscle in her thumb in practice Thursday, and couldn’t pitch.

Shannon Colosimo took over for Barker in the third inning and gave up only one hit the rest of the way. Colosimo (17-4-1) continued her mastery over SCC batters in the second game, taking a no-hitter into the fourth inning.

SCC, which batted .324 this season, managed only two singles. The Vanguards had a baserunner in each of the last four innings, but weren’t able to break through.

“We hit well the entire season; it just didn’t happen this weekend,” SCC co-Coach Bekki Turner said.

Cal Baptist (36-9-1) advances to play host to second-ranked Hawaii Pacific in a regional playoff May 13-14. The winner will advance to the national tournament in Columbia, Mo. SCC has a slight chance of qualifying for the national tournament with an at-large berth.

In Golden State Athletic Conference baseball:

Point Loma 2-6, Southern California College 0-2--Augie Pena was two for three in the second game for host SCC (18-18, 8-12), which had six hits in the doubleheader.