The Taft College home field hasn't been kind as of late. On Sunday, the Cougars suffered their fourth straight loss at home, dropping a non-conference doubleheader to College of the Siskiyous. Taft fell in the opener by a final score of 9-4 and lost the second game, 8-5.
Despite the losses, the dynamic duo of Kaitlyn Allen and Allie Dobbs did damage at the plate for the Cougars. Allen went a combined 4 for 8 at the plate over the two games while Dobbs went 4 for 7.
In Game 2, the pair hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the third inning to give Taft a 3-2 lead. Allen's homer was an inside-the-park variety while Dobbs' cleared the centerfield fence. But that lead didn't last long as COS put up three runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pull ahead for good.
Dobbs' solo home run was her state-leading seventh of the season. After a slow start, she's raised her batting average to an impressive .345 while driving in a team-best 17 runs.
Allen stared in the Game 1 loss, going 3 for 4 with a RBI double in the sixth inning.
But Siskiyous put the game out of reach early, going up 4-1 after two innings before rallying for four runs in the top of the fourth.
Abrianna Carr took the loss in the opener, allowing six earned runs and 15 hits in the complete-game effort. Isabelle Martinez also had a rough time in the circle, allowing seven earned runs and 11 hits in the Game 2 defeat.
Taft fell to 7-11 overall and will look to snap its losing streak when it opens Central Valley Conference play on Tuesday (Mar. 5) with a doubleheader at Merced College. Game 1 is schedule for a 1 p.m. start.