Taft College sophomore Allie Dobbs smashed her state-leading eighth home run, but the Cougars came up just short in a 6-5 loss to visiting Porterville College on Thursday in both teams' Central Valley Conference opener.
The loss dropped Taft to 7-12 overall and 0-1 in the CVC while Porterville improved to 9-4 and 1-0.
The Pirates opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, putting together three hits to score the game's first run. Auzia Mosley came through with a two-out single to drive in Nicole Nakinishi to give Porterville an early 1-0 lead.
That lead didn't last long. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Dobbs' solo shot to center field tied up the ball game.
Porterville went back out in front, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the third. Annisa Gomez doubled home Chelsea Ramos and Mosley followed with a double as well to drive in Gomez to put the Pirates back out in front.
The Pirates put up another run in the fifth thanks to a RBI single by Kuea Angilau and scored twice in the sixth after a Taft error and run scoring single by Mosley.
The Cougars put together a two-out rally in the fifth to score twice. Victoria Rosales came through in the clutch with a two-run single to drive in Dobbs and Jade Martinez.
With Porterville leading 6-3, Taft rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh. With runners on second and third, Thomas' ground out allowed Dobbs to score. Calli Martin followed with an RBI single to bring in Beige Reinhardt. But PC pitcher Ashley Eyraud was able to escape the inning for the complete-game win.
Abrianna Carr took the loss for Taft after allowing three earned runs and nine hits over five innings. Isabelle Martinez closed out the game, giving up a run and three hits over the final two innings.
Taft returns to CVC action on Tuesday (Mar. 12) when the Cougars host Reedley College in a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m.