Softball: Pirates drop two on opening day at West Valley

The Porterville College softball team is still in search of its first win of the season after dropping a pair of tough games at West Valley College in Saratoga on Saturday. The Pirates suffered a 10-5 loss to host West Valley in their 2017 season-opener and then were edged 6-5 in extra innings by Santa Rosa Junior College.

Porterville (0-2) returns to action for its home opener on Feb. 17 vs. De Anza College at 10 a.m. followed by a 2 p.m. contest against Hartnell College. That will be followed by a doubleheader with De Anza on Feb. 18 in Porterville.

Game 1: West Valley 10, Porterville 5
It was a rough start to the season as West Valley jumped ahead 5-0 after three innings before Porterville's bats came alive in the fourth. The Pirates rallied for five runs on six hits to tie up the game. Raeleen Torres, Jayme Knauer, Taylor Maddox, Samantha Dale, and Marissa Deloera all had RBI in the big inning. But West Valley responded with five runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth to secure its victory.

Hannah Grimes pitched two innings of scoreless relief while Sophia Chamberlain took the loss for the Pirates. Mckenzie Hendricks had two of Porterville's eight hits, including a double.

Game 2: Santa Rosa 6, Porterville 5 (8 inn.)
Porterville kept its offense going in the afternoon contest as the Pirates put up three runs in the top of the first and scored two more runs in the second. But with the Pirates leading 5-2 after four innings, Santa Rosa scored two in the fifth and forced extra innings with a game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh before securing the walk-off win in the eighth.

Maddox led the Pirates' offense as she went 2 for 4 with a double and RBI. Deloera also had two hits for Porterville, including a double. Grimes took the loss despite a solid effort in the circle. She allowed two earned runs over 4 2/3 innings.