Merced College’s Lopez one-hits Gavilan in softball

With hits in 16 of her last 19 games and 26 RBIs over that span, Merced College freshman Brianna Lopez is establishing herself as one of the better hitters in Northern California.

She can do some damage from the circle as well.

Lopez showed off her pitching prowess at She-Devil Diamond on Tuesday afternoon, striking out six and allowing just one hit in a five-inning 8-0 victory over Gavilan (5-20). A fourth-inning double was the only blemish as Lopez improved to 4-4, tossing her second one-hitter of the season.

Lopez stayed hot at the plate as well, doubling in her 30th run. Shelbee Ward and Jennifer Moreno each had two hits as Merced won for the 12th time in 15 games to improve to 16-10.

The She-Devils are fighting for their first playoff appearance since 2009.

Baseball

Merced College 10, West Hills 4 in Coalinga – The Blue Devils’ bats made the long drive to Coalinga, pounding 10 runs and 10 hits in a victory over the Falcons (3-19, 2-8).

Ricky Mena tripled in three runs in a decisive five-run second inning. Curtis Kellogg was 3 for 3 and scored two runs, and Dalton Beatty had two hits and scored two runs as the Blue Devils improved to 13-11 overall and 10-3 in the Central Valley Conference.

Merced is a half-game behind first-place Fresno City (14-8, 9-1) in the CVC.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Merced College’s Lopez one-hits Gavilan in softball."