Cypress’ One-Two Punch Knocks Out Saddleback

The Cypress softball team, which lost two one-run games over the weekend, got timely hits from the top of its lineup and outlasted a banged-up Saddleback team to win, 4-2, in an Orange Empire Conference game Monday at Saddleback.

Koral King and Yvette Martinez, the Chargers’ leadoff and No. 2 batters, combined for five hits and four runs against the Gauchos, who were down to a nine-player roster due to injuries.

Saddleback battled on even terms until Cypress (26-8-2, 15-3 in conference) broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning.

With no outs and King on first, Martinez drove a Tracy Alcaraz pitch into the gap in left-center field, and by the time Gaucho center fielder Nikki Shanafelt got to it, King was headed home. Shanafelt’s throw was in time, but King slid just below catcher Tracy Habiger’s tag for the go-ahead run. Two outs later, Martinez scored on a single by Erica Harding to make it 4-2.

“[King and Martinez] saw Alcaraz their first time through the lineup and figured they could hit her better the second time around,” said Cypress Coach Brad Pickler. “After that it was kind of contagious. The rest of the team feeds on that.”

Alcaraz had the Chargers fooled early with her off-speed pitches, but Pickler said it was time to gamble after King led off the sixth with a single.

“That’s why we didn’t have Yvette bunt,” he said. “We figured we should just roll the dice.”

Martinez was three for three and Harding had two hits and two RBIs.

Sara Louwsma (11-2) earned the win for the Chargers, who are one game behind conference-leading Fullerton (34-5, 16-2), which lost to Santa Ana Monday. Cypress plays at Fullerton Friday.

Shanafelt led the Gauchos (16-14-1, 9-9) with two hits, including a two-run double in the fourth.