The Santa Fe College softball team (29-3, 6-2 Mid-Florida Conference) proved why it is ranked No. 1 in the National Junior College Athletic Association on Tuesday against El Paso Community College.
The Saints swept the Tejanas with scores of 6-2 and 9-1 in the first and second game, respectively.
The first game against El Paso showed the Saints' defensive prowess. The second through sixth innings were three up, three down affairs, and there was only one hit in the first inning and two in the seventh.
Freshman pitcher Kimberly Squires (15-1, 0.71 ERA) shut out El Paso until the top of the seventh inning when an error by sophomore second baseman Nadirah Nesfield allowed 2 runs to score.
Offensively, the Saints jumped on the Tejanas, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the first courtesy of hits from Nesfield and third baseman Kristina Cruz. SFC scored 6 runs on nine hits.
Errors proved to be fatal for the Tejanas, as three errors in the field cost them 3 total runs.
"I thought the girls hit the ball very well today," said SFC coach Chris Ahern. "There was a lot of discipline at the plate, and there were good defensive plays. The entire team was involved in the doubleheader sweep, and that is great."
In the second game of the doubleheader, sophomore pitcher Ashley Schmitt (13-2, 0.61 ERA) held El Paso to just 1 run.
A 2-run homer from sophomore outfielder Belourse "B.B." Jean-Francois in the first inning brought the Saints' bats to life in the second game. Jean-Francois' hit brought the score to 4-0, and sophomore shortstop Erika Garcia followed her with a home run.
Nesfield redeemed herself in Game 2 against the Tejanas, going 2 for 4 at the plate with three RBIs.
The sweep of El Paso brought Ahern's coaching record to 302-63-2. Ahern earned win No. 300 in games at the National Training Center on March 14.
