COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Cypress’ Goddu Finishes Off Rancho Santiago in Softball

This time, Deborah Goddu finished strong and Cypress took sole possession of first place with a 2-0 victory over Rancho Santiago in an Orange Empire Conference softball game Friday at Cypress.

Goddu, a freshman, pitched a two-hitter and retired the final 13 for Cypress (19-4, 8-1), which moved one-game ahead of Rancho Santiago (16-8, 7-2) and Fullerton.

The first time the teams met in conference play, Rancho Santiago rallied for two runs in the seventh to beat Goddu and the Chargers, 2-1.

“We thought about changing it up some and not pitching her,” Cypress Coach Brad Pickler said about Goddu. “But we have a rotation going and wanted to stick with it. That was a big win for us.”.

Goddu, who relied mostly on changing speeds and her drop pitch, struck out three and didn’t walk any. She is 7-2.

Cypress scored a run in the first on two throwing errors and added another in the third. Amy Tessman walked Alison Murphy on a full-count to start the inning. After a pop out and sacrifice, Christa Saindon was walked intentionally. Tessman then walked Jenn Allchin and Briana Yoshina, both on full-count pitches, to force home a run.