Spartan shortstop Makinze Massey (center) is congratulated by teammates Arii Denis (right) and Kaylyn Ponce (left) after laying out to make a catch in East Nic’s game against Colusa on April 29.

NICOLAUS, CA (MPG) – As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end” and such was the case for the East Nicolaus softball team as they saw its streak of 10 straight wins over Colusa broken after the RedHawks avenged their loss to the Spartans on April 29 by posting a 6-0 shutout victory on May 2.

It was a significant setback for East Nicolaus, which hadn’t lost a league game since 2016, because it puts the Spartans in a tie at the top of the Sacramento Valley League standings with Colusa with just three games remaining in the regular season.

The Spartans’ Gabby Sotelo hits an RBI double in the seventh inning of the Spartans win over Colusa on April 29. 

However, what made the loss that much more surprising was that East Nicolaus had started the series with a 4-2 win over the RedHawks on the road after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and adding an insurance run in the final frame.

San Jose State commit Gabby Sotelo went 3 for 4 and drove in a run, Richie Farris had a two-run single while Stevie Knight and Skylar Kim also recorded hits.

East Nicolaus’s Richie Farris singles to drive in the Spartans first two runs of the game against Colusa on April 29.

Knight, who is headed to Abilene Christian to play for the Wildcats next year, also earned the win in the circle, scattering five hits and striking out seven without yielding an earned run.

Yet returning home to complete the series three days later, perhaps the Spartans, given their history against Colusa, got complacent because in addition to making five errors in the field, managed just two hits against RedHawk pitcher Ava Garcia, who fanned 12 East Nicolaus batters on the day.

Stevie Knight delivers a pitch in East Nicolaus’s 4-2 win over the RedHawks in Colusa on April 29.

Makinze Massey accounted for both of those hits, while three other batters reached base via a free pass.

In the circle, Knight suffered the hard-luck loss despite allowing just three hits, one earned run and striking out nine.

Now 15-6 overall, East Nicolaus looked to bounce back this week as they took on Durham in a Sacramento Valley League series on May 6 and May 9 respectively, then in between squeezed in a non-conference contest against Yuba City on May 7.