Santa Rosa Erases Early Deficit, Advances to Saturday
Bakersfield, Calif. – The Santa Rosa Bear Cubs erased an early deficit, defeating conference foe Cosumnes River for the first time all season in a 13-7 win in the loser's bracket of the 2026 3C2A Softball State Championship Tournament on Friday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings, posting three runs in each of the first two frames. Cosumnes River was firing on all cylinders and capitalizing on Santa Rosa mistakes, but Mia Avila – who picked up two wins in the circle today – flipped the script and stifled the Hawk offense from the third through sixth innings.
In that span, the Bear Cubs began to battle back. They scored in each inning from the third on, but started the spree with a five-spot in the third. CRC's starter, Kaylena Ogle, was plagued by a defense that committed four errors on the day – the most costly a two-out error, eventually tacking her for five runs (none earned) in the third.
Santa Rosa added two in the fourth, fifth and three in the sixth then one more in the seventh. Kylee Bauman and Mira Olvera each whacked two run homers. Bauman's went to the opposite field in right, while Olvera's soared to dead center and off the glove of the Hawks' center fielder and over the wall.
Brianna Allen hit the Bear Cubs' third and final homer of the game. A three-run shot in the sixth gave Santa Rosa a six-run lead at the time, sealing the come-from-behind win.
STAND OUT PERFORMERS/NOTES
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Mira Olvera went 4-for-5 at the plate, scoring three runs, driving in two via the homer
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Five Bear Cubs posted multi-hit games, Brianna Allen went 3-for-5 with four RBI
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After losing 33-3 in round one, the Bear Cubs have outscored opponents 27-8 in loser's bracket wins.
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Both four seeds and one seeds remain alive heading into day three
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Of the three Big 8 teams that qualified, the Bear Cubs (the lowest ranked of the three) are the lone squad remaining
UP NEXT
Santa Rosa posts a 2-0 day to advance through the loser's bracket to face the south's No. 4 seed, Saddleback at 3 p.m. tomorrow. The Hawks ended their season losing both games today, posting a final record of 28-20.
Courtesy of Joe Perrino, 3CFCA SID
