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NorCal Softball Tournament Keeps Varsity Girls Busy
B vazquez
Asking for time before settling in to wait for a pitch, Lady Cougar varsity player Briana Vazquez is shown during earlier season action. The varsity girls were 1-2 during their appearance in the Spring Break NorCal Classic in Tracy. Marg Jackson/The Times

It was a three-game schedule of contests for Escalon’s varsity Lady Cougars this past week in the NorCal Classic Tournament in Tracy. The girls got one win out of the three games, defeating El Capitan out of Merced. They fell to Turlock and East Union.

On Friday, April 22 they took an 8-5 loss to Turlock. Escalon built up an early 5-2 lead but saw Turlock put six runs on the board in the fifth, good enough to stand up for the win.

Lucy Allbaugh was 2-for-3 with two runs scored; Brooke Davis was 2-for-3 with an RBI; Tulsa Carnes had a hit and a run driven in. Also scoring runs were Briana Vazquez, Soleil Gouzenne and Emily Vickers. Davis took the loss on the mound, striking out five, allowing seven hits and four earned runs.

Saturday action, April 23, the Lady Cougars fell by a 7-1 final to East Union. The Lady Lancers were up 2-1 after scoring singles runs in the third and fourth, then erupted for five runs in the sixth. Escalon had a short-lived lead in the top of the third, Tulsa Carnes driving in Briana Vazquez to go up 1-0, but East Union tied it in the bottom of the inning, then went ahead for good with a run in the fourth.

Emily Vickers had a double and a sacrifice. Davis and Madison Hagglund each pitched three innings in the contest.

Escalon did come away with one victory in the tournament. They were the home team in their Saturday, April 23 game against the El Capitan Gauchos out of Merced. The Lady Cougars prevailed in a 5-2 contest, taking a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third and adding a run in the bottom of the fourth. El Capitan scratched back for two runs in the top of the fifth but couldn’t get any closer.

Davis got the win, scattering eight hits over five innings, striking out seven and allowing two runs and two walks.

Offensively, Allbaugh was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and rapped out a triple; Emily Vickers was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI; Faye Hernandez went 2-for-3, scoring a run and driving in two. Vickers and Hernandez each had a double. Hagglund was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Davis was 1-for-2 with a run scored. Escalon had nine hits on the day and played error-free ball in the win.

They ended the week at 12-9 overall and now get back to Trans-Valley League play, returning from spring break. The varsity Lady Cougars are 4-3 in league and were scheduled to travel to Hughson on Tuesday, April 26 after The Times went to press. They will host Hilmar on Thursday, April 28 at 4 p.m.