Cougars Softball sweeps Coalinga in home doubleheader behind explosive bats and a five-inning shutout
Taft College opened a home doubleheader with a seven-run first inning, then closed it with a five-inning shutout, sweeping Coalinga 19-3 and 8-0 on Tuesday at 29 Cougar Court.
The decisive tone of the day came early in Game 1, when the Cougars broke it open in the first inning and never let Coalinga settle in. Taft added four more runs in the second, five in the third and three in the fourth, finishing with 19 runs on 20 hits and no errors in the five-inning win. Jasmine Estrada led the surge with two home runs and five RBIs, while Katelynn Moore collected four hits, scored three times and drove in two runs. Jashia Lee-Hernando added three hits, three RBIs and a home run as Taft produced four homers in the opener and did not strike out at the plate.
Coalinga managed eight hits in the first game and got a home run with two RBIs from Bryton Loflin, but Taft's staff limited the damage to three earned runs over five innings. Minayah Singleton also had three hits for Coalinga. The Cougars were sharp defensively throughout the opener, committing no errors while building leads of 7-1 after the first inning, 11-1 after the second and 16-3 after the third before ending it at 19-3.
Game 2 followed a similar script at the start, with Taft scoring five runs in the first inning to seize immediate control. This time the Cougars paired the fast start with dominant work in the circle. Mischa Mott threw five scoreless innings, allowed three hits and struck out six as Taft completed the sweep with an 8-0 victory. The Cougars added a run in the third inning and two more in the fifth, again forcing a five-inning finish.
Jazzy Juarez paced the offense in the second game, going for three hits with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Lee-Hernando continued her strong day with three more hits and an RBI, helping Taft finish with 16 hits. Coalinga starter Alexis Espinoza worked five innings but was charged with eight runs on 16 hits. Taft did not draw a walk and did not strike out in Game 2, consistently putting balls in play and pressuring the defense.
Across the doubleheader, Taft scored 27 runs on 36 hits. The Cougars got power from Estrada, Moore, Lee-Hernando and Juarez, clean defense in the opener, and a standout pitching performance from Mott in the finale. The sweep gave Taft a complete day at home, from the opening seven-run burst in Game 1 to the last two insurance runs in the fifth inning of Game 2.