Giants' softball opens season with doubleheader sweep of Modesto
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
Emily Ibarra picked up where she left off for College of the Sequoias softball team.
The former Redwood High standout went a combined 4 for 8 with five RBIs to help the Giants open the season with a doubleheader sweep of host Modesto on Jan. 28.
Ibarra hit .526 in 17 games for the Giants in 2021, when Sequoias was one of a handful of programs across the state that brought back athletics during a school year otherwise canceled by the California Community College Athletic Association because of safety precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ibarra did not play last season. She retains freshman eligibility.
Ibarra walked and scored a run in the decisive fifth inning of Sequoias' 12-5 victory over Modesto in the first game.
The Giants fell behind 5-0 through four innings before exploding for 10 runs in the fifth.
Nataly Espinoza (Shafter) got Sequoias rolling with a single that brought home Bailee Bustos (Mission Oak). Espinoza scored when Modesto played an Isela Villarreal (Dinuba) grounder for an error to make it 5-2.
Eliza Gamez (Redwood), Shalom Sanchez (Tulare Union), Jacquelyn Esquer (Lemoore) and Bustos then delivered consecutive run-scoring hits as Sequoias pulled ahead 7-5.
Madison Shimmon (Hanford West) had an RBI single, and two runs scored when an Espinoza grounder was played for an error to put the Giants up 10-5.
Sequoias capped the scoring in the sixth inning as Sanchez and Bustos both came around on errors.
Shimmon pitched four scoreless innings of relief to earn the win.
In the second game, Ibarra had a three-run double in the third inning, and a two-run double in the fifth as the Giants cruised to a 14-2 win in five innings.
Sequoias scored seven runs in the third, also getting run-scoring singles from Villarreal and Sarai Ozuna (Cesar Chavez-Delano).
The Giants scored seven more in the fifth, including an RBI triple by Mandy Pimentel (Riverdale). Sanchez had an RBI double and Sanchez and Anela Hernandez (Waialua, Hawaii) also had run-scoring singles for Sequoias.
Bustos earned the win in the second game, too, allowing one earned run on two hits over four innings. She struck out five.
Sequoias resumes nonconference play Feb. 4 in Rocklin when it faces preseason state No. 5-ranked Sierra (0-0) at 10 a.m. and No. 13 West Valley (1-1) at noon.
The Giants first home games are set for noon Feb. 11, hosting Northern California No. 18 Cabrillo (1-1) at noon and NorCal No. 13 San Joaquin Delta (0-0) at 2 p.m.
Sequoias, which went 10-22 overall and 6-9 in the Central Valley Conference last season, launches conference play at 2 p.m. March 2 at Merced.
