Cuesta Softball hosted #20 Fresno City for a non-conference doubleheader, which was also celebrated as the Cougars' "Sophomore Day" . The Cougars celebrated their six second year players during the break between games and, after falling in the opener, 15-9. the Cougars rallied to earn the split, 8-7, for their sophomores.  

 

In the opener, the visiting Rams scored twice to open the game, while Cuesta's Sophia Edwards answered with a solo shot in her first turn at bat, but Fresno City put the game out of reach with 13 runs in the third inning.   The Rams connected 13 hits and 13 runs in the frame, yet the Cougars stood strong after the onslaught.  Cuesta answered with five runs of their own, including a two-run homer from Cierra Cloud, while Reliever Georgia Wilson held the Rams scoreless for the remainder of the game.  Cuesta Third Basman Addy Finegan added to her State Leading home run total with a two-run homer in the 4th inning, which helped the Cougars avoid the 3C2A Run-Rule (An 8-run Lead after Five Innings).  Cloud came back around with a RBI double in the later innings, while the Cougars took a loss in their opener, 15-9. 

 

In the nightcap, Finegan opened the game by slugging her State-Leading 17th home run of the season and setting the tone for the game.  The Cougars scored in each of the first three turns at the plate and held a 5-1 lead going into the 5th inning.  The Cougars went down in order in the 4th and 5th, while Fresno City struck back.  The Rams finally got to Wilson, who going back to the opener, had allowed the Rams to only one run over her eight innings in the circle.  Fresno City was able to briefly take the lead in the 6th, 6-5, as the contest moved into the final two innings.  Luckily for Cuesta, Cloud returned with a bases-clearing triple to secure the, eventual, victory, 8-7, while Griffith returned to earn the decision in relief, while recording strikeouts for six final seven outs.  Cuesta is now 9-19 on the season and will return to their Western State Conference schedule next Thursday.  The Cougars, who also beat Santa Barbara (8-2) in a Western State Conference (WSC) game on Thursday, are currently 2-3 record against the WSC.

 

Cuesta Softball shall host WSC rival Santa Monica on Thursday (2 PM), before spending Saturday in Bakersfield for a non-conference twinbill.  The Cougars are schedule to play both host Bakersfield (Noon) and Grossmont (2 PM)

Note: The Cougars' all-WSC Sophomores, Addy Finegan and Cierra Cloud are both climbing the State's statistical rankings. Finegan has crushed Amanda Mueller's (16) former Cuesta Home Run mark and leads the State with 17 roundtrippers and is second in the State with 49 runs batted in.  Cloud has clubbed only three home runs this season but is third in the State for Triples (6) and 7th in the State for Doubles (13).  They also rank 10th (34) and 11th (33) in the State for runs scored, with Finegan a run ahead of Cloud.