Panthers mount 7th-inning comeback for walk-off win over Taft

Chaffey softball hosted the Taft College Cougars on Saturday, February 6 and moved to 3-2 on the season with a come-from-behind 5-4 victory.

Taft College opened the game with a single run in the first and two more in the third to jump out to a 3-0 lead against the Panthers. Chaffey threatened in both the first and second innings, tallying a pair of hits in each but left their runners stranded with no runs. 

Finally, in the 4th inning, Chaffey got on the board. With one out, freshman Mia Britt drew a walk. Sophomore Rosyvette Garcia Pacheco pinch ran for Britt and promptly stole second base. Sophomore catcher Allison Waite followed with an RBI single. 

In the top of the 7th inning, the Cougars added another run to take a 4-1 lead.

Taft retired the first two Chaffey hitters of the 7th before the Panthers pulled off the comeback. With 2 outs, freshman leadoff Micayla Arreola drew a walk. Freshman right fielder Makayla Enriquez followed with an RBI double to score Arreola and cut the lead to 4-2. Then sophomore center fielder Lauren Chappell smashed a double, scoring Enriquez to make it a 4-3 game. 

The Cougars opted to intentionally walk cleanup hitter Fernanda Cano (who already tallied two hits in the game). That brought up freshman shortstop Nevaeha Tarin, who knocked in Chappell to tie the game at four. Rosyvette Garcia Pacheco followed with a line drive single to score Cano from second base and end the game, giving Chaffey the 5-4 win.