ELAC Plates Three in the Seventh for Wild Comeback Win Over Pasadena City

by Cerwin D Haynes

(photos by Joshua De La Rosa)

Most people spend their Fridays looking ahead to the weekend. East LA College softball, however, prefers to spend their Fridays winning.

Facing a 9-7 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Huskies (8-15, 3-8) took advantage of a couple of defensive miscues by their opponents to push three runs across the plate and defeat Pasadena City College (3-17, 0-11) 10-9. Six out of the Pack's eight wins have now been on Fridays.

This game was a back-n-forth affair: East LA jumped out to a 2-0 in the first inning, only to have PCC score six runs in the second primarily due to poor defense. To wit: Pasadena only needed one hit to score their runs thanks to four Huskies' errors. Ultimately, East would climb out of the hole, plating two runs in the fifth, and three in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead. PCC would answer in the top of the seventh with three runs of their own to retake the lead, but the home Green responded again in the bottom half of the frame with three more runs to claim the win.

Lapses in defense played a major role in this game, with nine errors (East LA with five, Pasadena with four) playing a pivotal role in giving both teams opportunities to score. In the second and seventh innings, ELAC miscues by the left side of the infield opened the door for the visitors to score often. Thankfully, East LA was able to conversely take advantage of some PCC mistakes, particularly in the deciding seventh inning:

• After LF Adriana Martinez struck out to lead off the bottom of the inning, leadoff hitter SS Nathaly Ochoa hit a ground ball to third. It was fielded cleanly by Alysa Rojas, but the throw to first was high and wide. Ochoa was on safely. 
• P Sophia Priebe, who started the day at the DP but came onto pitch in the second inning, drew a walk.
• 1B Alicia Amaya - who had been switched to third base for defense - was up next. She hit a sharp grounder off pitcher Leiana Rodriguez's glove that bounced towards third for an infield single that loaded the bases. Amaya and Priebe were pinch-ran for.
• CF Arianna Urias scorched a ground ball past shortstop Alexis Garcia for a single to score Ochoa. ELAC trailed 9-8, bases still loaded.
• 3B Leiloni Pina (moved to 1B in the third) tapped a grounder to second. The throw home looked to be in time for the force out, but the catcher's foot was off the plate as PR Tyana Ponce scored. Game tied at nine, and the bases were still loaded with one out.
• 2B Jocelyn Solorzano was up next. She hit a grounder deep to short, scoring the second PR Juliet Verdugo from third before Garcia's throw to third was registered. Ballgame.

HUSKY BITS

• The bottom four batters of the Huskies' lineup have struggled this season, with batting averages between .133 and .238. ELAC needed some production today from that group in order to come back to win, and they got it. 
  
  • Jocelyn Solorzano hit 3-5 with 3RBI
  • Sophia Arvizu went 2-4 with 2RBI.
  • Jaquelin Garcia-Pena went 1-3 with a walk.
  • Adriana Martinez went 1-4.
• Arianna Urias hit 3-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. She is now hitting .406 on the season, leading the team in batting average, total hits (28) RBI (17) and homeruns (2).
• Priebe got the win in relief, throwing 5.1 innings with six hits, two earned runs and four strikeouts. Her blanking of Pasadena in innings 3-6 allowed the Pack to claw back into the game.
  • She also went 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Alicia Amaya went 1-4 with an RBI, a walk and a run scored.
• Nathaly Ochoa went 1-4 with a walk while crossing the plate three times.
• ELAC is now 6-2 on Fridays.

UP NEXT:

East LA is in the heart of their 10-game homestand, with four more games on campus next week, starting Tuesday afternoon versus Mt. SAC. Gametime is 3pm.