JC softball: Fresno City needs two wins Sunday to reach state final four

It hasn’t been easy of late for the Fresno City College softball team, which won 27 in a row at one point while rising to the No. 1 ranking in the state.

For the second straight weekend, the Rams will head to Sunday needing to win twice to stay alive, this time to advance to the state final four in Bakersfield.

Now it’s Sacramento City standing in the way.

The third-seeded Panthers handed No. 2 Fresno City a 6-5 defeat on Saturday to force the Rams into an elimination game against No. 6 San Jose City later in the day.

That’s when the Rams found their groove.

Karen Zamora’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the fifth inning gave the Rams a 6-5 lead en route to a 12-7 victory over the Jaguars – the same team that snapped Fresno City’s long winning streak last month. Counting that April 23 defeat, Fresno City is just 3-3 in its past six games, but the ultimate prize remains within reach.

The Rams (39-6) will face regional unbeaten Sacramento City (33-8-1) at noon Sunday, with another game following, if needed, under the double-elimination format.

In its opener Saturday, Fresno City jumped to a 5-0 lead, but the Panthers answered with five in the bottom of the third and took the lead an inning later on Kaitlyn Leffle’s run-scoring double.

The Rams advanced to the Super Regional after winning twice last Sunday against No. 15 Ohlone.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 8:07 PM with the headline "JC softball: Fresno City needs two wins Sunday to reach state final four."