Taft jumps ahead early, but Fresno rallies for 11-2 softball win

Taft College grabbed the first lead Thursday afternoon, but Fresno City College answered with a decisive fourth inning and pulled away for an 11-2 win over the Cougars in Fresno. The turning point came in the bottom of the fourth, when Fresno scored seven runs, highlighted by Makena Makekau's triple, an RBI double from Amara Klein and a three-run home run by Alexis Alvarado.

The Cougars struck first in the top of the first and made the most of an early opening. A throwing error helped set the table, and Mischa Mott followed with a two-run double to left to give Taft a 2-0 advantage. Mott finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and accounted for both Taft runs. The Cougars totaled six hits in the game, but Fresno starter Sara Barbosa settled in after the first inning and did not allow another run.

Fresno began to chip away in the second, scoring on Jayden Herrera's RBI groundout after Makekau came around to score, trimming the margin to 2-1. The game swung sharply two innings later. Fresno sent its lineup through during the seven-run fourth, erasing the deficit and building an 8-2 lead. Alvarado's three-run homer to left provided the biggest blow of the inning and capped the surge.

Makekau continued to drive the offense late. After already helping ignite the fourth inning, she delivered again in the sixth with a three-run homer to left that closed the scoring at 11-2. Makekau finished 3 for 3 with three runs scored, three RBIs, a triple and a home run, while Alvarado added two hits, two runs and three RBIs for Fresno.

Barbosa went the distance for Fresno, throwing a six-inning complete game. She allowed two runs on six hits, both runs unearned, and struck out three without issuing a walk over 64 pitches. Taft's staff worked five innings and allowed 11 runs on nine hits. The Cougars were charged with three errors, while Fresno also committed three. Taft left six runners on base and Fresno stranded five.

Taft's best stretch came at the start, when the Cougars converted early pressure into a 2-0 lead, but Fresno's fourth-inning outburst changed the game. By the time Makekau launched the three-run homer in the sixth, the home team had completed the comeback and handed Taft the 11-2 road loss.