No. 1 CSM wins state showdown 5-1 over No. 2 West Valley; Quigley-Borg one win from 700
SARATOGA – College of San Mateo cemented itself as the top team in the state on Tuesday. In a battle between two unbeaten powerhouses, the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs topped No. 2 West Valley College by a final score of 5-1 in a Coast Conference game on the road.
Defending state champion San Mateo ran its winning streak to 38 games and improved to 22-0 overall this season. West Valley was handed its first loss of the year and fell to 19-1.
The Bulldogs got a complete-game effort in the circle from pitcher Lola Sierra and a big three-run home run from shortstop Peyton Huber in the sixth inning.
CSM scored in the first when Love Cabanas singled to drive in Ale Phillips for a 1-0 lead. West Valley tied it in the fourth on an Angelina Fulkerson RBI-double that plated Miranda Temple.
San Mateo retook the lead in the sixth. With two outs and runners on base after singles by Hannah Ames and Marilyn Rivas, Huber hit a three-run home run on a full count to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-1. Kaylee Poulos tripled to lead off the seventh and scored on a Cabanas RBI-single to make it 5-1.
Cabanas went 2 for 3 with two RBI while Poulos went 2 for 4 with a triple and scored twice. The Bulldogs finished with seven hits and were solid on defense with no errors.
Sierra went seven innings, allowing four hits and one earned run with one walk and two strikeouts. She improved to 10-0 this season and lowered her ERA to 1.43.
Head coach Nicole Quigley-Borg is closing in on another milestone. With Tuesday's win, she now sits at 699 at the college. Quigley-Borg will get her first chance at career win No. 700 when the Bulldogs host Hartnell College on Thursday (Mar. 12) in a Coast Conference game at 3 p.m.
