Several Teams With Strong Starts In SCC Softball
In the early weeks of the 2020 South Coast Conference softball season, 2-time defending, CCCAA state champion Mt. San Antonio College is adjusting to a new interim head coach in Alex Mascarenas with former coach Ruby Rojas now an assistant at Auburn University. However, the Mounties are 7-0 overall and earned a state No. 2 ranking and SoCal #1 rating in the year's first 3CFCA coaching poll.
Mt. SAC has depth as always, including a recent win over Compton in which 17 different players collected hits. Centerfielder Nicole Siess is a force already with a .609 batting average, three homers and 14 RBI in just seven games. Mt. SAC has traditionally been led by great pitching and Alexia Silvas has looked strong in early starts with a 3-0 record and 19 strikeouts in 19 innings. The Mounties were 2-0 in SCC play at the time of this release.
El Camino, 4-1 overall, is ranked No. 12 in the state poll and No. 6 in SoCal. The Warriors will have a bigger challenge now that the SCC is a one, 9-team conference with Chaffey joining the Inland Empire Athletic Conference. ECC had won three straight SCC South Division crowns from 2017-2019. Mt. SAC also won three straight North titles but was the last team to win the SCC title outright as one conference in 2016. The Warriors won the SCC championship in 2015 as the two programs have been the conference's elite two over the last five years. ECC is led by pitcher Elizabeth Cortez, who is 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA thus far.
Long Beach City (1-4) is #15 on the state poll and No. 8 in the region, but has had a head-scratching start to the season. The Vikings surprised El Camino, 8-1, in their SCC opener but then ran into unranked Pasadena City (5-4) with the visiting Lancers posting an 11-1 mercy win. LBCC has gone on to lose to both East Los Angeles and Mt. SAC and lost four straight. Long Beach is paced by shortstop Jade Wittman, batting .688 to lead all conference hitters.
Meanwhile, Pasadena has recovered from a 1-3 start to the season and is 3-0 in SCC play. The Lancers are led by shortstop Danielle Ruiz, batting .375 with six stolen bases. East LA (4-1) is also playing well and the Huskies were 3-0 in conference games. ELAC is paced by shortstop Eliza Flores, hitting .313 with two home runs and seven RBI.
One program that is making a big turnaround so far is Rio Hondo, now 5-4 and is 2-0 in South Coast play. The Roadrunners won just eight games (only one SCC win) all last year. Rio Hondo has received steady production from shortstop Kelly Monroy, batting .423 with 12 RBI.
Cerritos (3-4) has started out surprisingly 0-3 in SCC play. The Falcons remain one of many tough teams in the conference, however. Cerritos has one of the conference's top power hitters in leftfielder Iztel Soto, who has three home runs and is batting .333.
SCC Softball Standings
https://southcoastconf.com/sports/sball/index
SCC Softball Stat Leaders
https://southcoastconf.com/sports/sball/2019-20/leaders