Groshon Gives SCC a Boost in First Round

All season long, Southern California College’s Alicia Groshon has done the dirty work. As the Vanguards’ No. 2 hitter, her job has been to bunt runners into scoring position.

But Tuesday, the senior shortstop’s two-out, bases-loaded double in the fourth inning drove in three runs and helped propel SCC to a 5-1 victory over Columbia (Mo.) College in the first round of the NAIA Softball National Championships at the Jupiter Softball Complex.

“As a No. 2 hitter, she doesn’t get to swing away a lot of the time. But that was a key hit for us. She really came through,” said SCC Coach Beth Renkoski, whose team, making its second consecutive appearance--third overall--in the finals, will play Mobile (Ala.) today. Both teams are 47-11. SCC is seeded third in the 16-team field.

Groshon was batting only .244 coming into the game but had 30 runs batted in, second on the team.

In her first two at-bats Tuesday, Groshon laid down sacrifices to set up senior Noelle Sturgill, who gave the Vanguards a 2-1 lead with RBI singles in the first and third innings.

In the fourth, junior Christina Blankenship and sophomore Erin Gomez each singled and senior Chrissy Vega reached first on a fielder’s choice, setting the stage for Groshon.

“I wasn’t thinking about a big hit, I just wanted to get one in a hole,” Groshon said. “Most of my job is to bunt and move the runners over, but when I have the chance to hit, I hit.”

Freshman Gina Liebengood pitched a five-hitter. After a rough first inning, during which she gave up a run on two hits and a wild pitch, Liebengood (22-3) settled down. She struck out the final batters in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings.

“The first inning was a little bit shaky,” Renkoski said. “But she came back and that’s what she has done all year.”

After losing their first-round game in last year’s NAIA Championships en route to a fifth-place finish, the Vanguards said Tuesday’s victory was a big step toward winning a national title.

“We had to go the hard way last year after we dropped a heartbreaker in the opening game,” Groshon said about SCC’s 6-5 loss to Western Washington. “This year, we were more determined and realized that a first-round win makes it a lot easier. We know we have a good shot at winning a national championship.”