Junior Colleges: Fresno City softball loses opener; Rams and Reedley baseball ousted

Timely hitting has been the theme for the Fresno City College softball team all season.

That was missing in the NorCal Regional series opener Saturday against Ohlone.

The 15th-seeded Renegades (20-16-1) scored twice in the seventh inning, highlighted by Mckayla Saavedra’s home run, as the No. 2 Rams fell 5-2.

“We just need to change our approach at the plate a little bit,” Rams coach Rhonda Williams said. “We didn’t get that timely hitting today. We just weren’t us today and we didn’t play relaxed like we normally do. We play better when we’re loose and relaxed and we were a little tight today. We need to come out relaxed and come out with a belief we can get it done tomorrow.”

The Rams left 10 runners on base.

Sarah Santana took the loss after giving up five runs (four earned) on nine hits.

Fresno City (35-5) would need to win twice Sunday to advance. First pitch for game 2 is set for noon.

Sudden exits for area’s baseball teams — Fresno City baseball coach Ron Scott gathered his team in left field after a season-ending 8-6 loss to San Mateo and told them how much he enjoyed coaching them.

It looked like Fresno City would prolong its postseason run after losing the opener of the best-of-three 6-4 a day earlier, but that wasn’t the case.

After the Rams took a 3-0 lead in the second inning, the 11th-seeded Bulldogs responded with two in the third, three in the fifth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth en route to eliminating the No. 6 Rams at John Euless Ballpark.

“I told them I loved them and we were 4-6 at one point and we turned it around,” Scott said. “We became a real good group of guys and have no reason to hang our heads. We had a good season.”

Fresno City (26-12) tied it 6-6 in the eighth on Alec Emerzian’s run-scoring double, but San Mateo answered again in the bottom half.

“Tough, really, going down like this,” Rams outfielder Logan Poisall said. “Really tough going down like this at your own place. We fought every time.”

Brad Degnan and Rj Prince each drove in two runs for San Mateo (25-13).

▪ Reedley, seeded 16th, was eliminated after 8-0 and 6-2 losses to top-seeded Santa Rosa. The Tigers, who put the pressure on by taking game 1 on Friday, end the season at 25-14 after making their first postseason appearance since 1963.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Junior Colleges: Fresno City softball loses opener; Rams and Reedley baseball ousted."