SCC Wins Twice to Force Showdown with Point Loma

Heather Rogers had no idea that her three-run triple to give Southern California College a five-run lead would actually be important.

But Rogers’ bit of clutch hitting provided the winning margin in a 5-4 victory over Point Loma Nazarene in the NAIA Far West Regional Friday at Southern California College.

The victory forced a deciding game today at noon between the Golden State Athletic Conference rivals. Win or lose, SCC (45-11), ranked fifth nationally, will assuredly get one of seven at-large berths to the national tournament in West Palm Beach, Fla., May 24-28. Point Loma (33-18) must win the regional to advance.

SCC’s clutch hitting was in contrast to its performance a day earlier when it got only three hits in a victory over Menlo Park, and was shut out by Point Loma, 2-0.

Rogers made Point Loma pay for an intentional walk to Valerie Vanaken following a fifth-inning single and double. It was the second intentional walk to Vanaken; Michelle Murie had singled home a run with two outs in the third inning the first time Point Loma did it, but struck out the second.

That brought up Rogers against reliever Hayden Aley, a Newport Harbor graduate. Rogers, whose triple beat Point Loma in last year’s regional, then did it again.

“With a 5-0 lead, you don’t think that [hit] would win the game until it gets close,” said Rogers, a senior third baseman who also singled and scored in the second inning on Christina Blankenship’s two-out single. “Then you realize it was definitely needed and very crucial.”

The Crusaders rallied with four consecutive hits with two outs in the fifth inning, including back-to-back triples--one by former Trabuco Hills player Lori Kwiatkowski--to cut the deficit to 5-2.

They added two more runs in the sixth inning on two walks, a single, and Kwiatkowski’s double.

In the seventh inning, pitcher Gretchen Brandt (13-8) gave way to Gina Liebengood, who allowed a walk and single but got her first save of the season.

Liebengood (20-3) was particularly impressive in the earlier elimination game, a 2-1 victory over Azusa Pacific (32-23-1). She gave up a run-scoring triple in the first inning, but didn’t allow another hit until the seventh. She, too, was supported by timely hitting; Vanaken had an RBI double and RBI single, both with two outs.