Gavilan College softball forfeits four wins due to ineligible
player, defeats MPC, Cabrillo, nonetheless
GILROY
Lessons were learned last week for the Gavilan College softball team, while the always-uphill battle of competing in the Coast Conference South got a bit steeper.
Rams manager Nikki Dequin learned last Thursday of an ineligible player on her team that competed in four games for Gavilan earlier this season.
The player “fell through a loophole” in the school’s computer system, where it listed the player as enrolled in 12.5 academic units, when actually she was enrolled in 11.5 and was deemed ineligible as a result.
Athletes have a requirement to be enrolled in at least 12 units.
“I don’t really blame her because I can understand how it happened,” Dequin said. “It’s just one more thing that this team will fight through. This will make us stronger in the long run.”
As a penalty, however, Gavilan forfeited four wins, and instead of being 7-9 overall and 1-0 in the conference, the Rams entered this week at 3-13.
The Rams’ big 1-0 victory over defending league champion San Jose City College was also forfeited.
“We reported the incident and took care of the incident to make sure it won’t happen again,” Dequin said. “But I’m actually very proud of how they dealt with it. We have to work a lot harder, obviously, but that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with that.
“The girls learned a tough lesson.”
The player in question was able to pick up another unit, Dequin said, and is already back with the team.
“There is quite a bit of season left,” Dequin added.
And the Rams have certainly kept pace, despite the outside distractions.
On Tuesday, behind a complete game from Melinda Ortiz (7IP, 1R, 3H, 5K, 1BB, 1HBP), Gavilan scored four runs late to earn a 5-1 victory at Monterey Peninsula College, then topped Cabrillo College 8-2 on Wednesday.
Thursday’s showdown with De Anza College was not reported at press time.
Tuesday’s victory, though, showcased nine Rams hits, including an Audra Brown RBI double in the first inning to score Danielle Scibuola from second base.
Although MPC tied the game at 1-all in the fourth after two Gavilan errors, the Rams regained the lead in the following frame when Ashley Gamboa doubled and Danielle Payne singled before a sacrifice fly from Scibuola to score one run. Andrea Garcia then followed with an RBI single to make it 3-1.
The Rams added two more in the fifth on an RBI triple from Mikhaela Osuna and an RBI single from Gamboa.
Ortiz (7IP, 6H, 2R, 8BB, 1HBP, 6K) hurled another complete game on Wednesday against Cabrillo as well, which saw Gavilan jump out to a four-run lead in the first inning behind a three-RBI triple from Audra Brown.
Cabrillo put two on the board in the third to cut into the Rams’ lead, but Gavilan posted another four-spot in the seventh, highlighted by back-to-back RBI doubles by Brown and Osuna.
The Rams (2-1, 5-13) will compete this weekend at a tournament at Ohlone College in Fremont.
GAVILAN – 100 022 0 – 5 9 3
MONTEREY – 000 100 0 – 1 3 0
WP: M. Ortiz
GAVILAN – 400 000 4 – 8 9 2
CABRILLO – 002 000 0 – 2 6 5
WP: M. Ortiz
