Lively Bats, Priebe No-Hitter Powers Huskies' Mercy Shutout of Rio Hondo

by Cerwin D Haynes

(thumbnail by Mario Villegas)

The 2025 season, like the season before it, has not been kind to East Los Angeles College Softball. However, the team has shown more punchiness within the last week, going 2-2 with wins over Ventura and Riverside. With the struggling Roadrunners of Rio Hondo College coming into Monterey Park today, the Huskies had a good opportunity to continue to build momentum before the schedule gets tougher again. It was also a good opportunity for sophomore P Sophia Priebe, who had just recovered from injury, to build her own momentum back up while giving freshman P Alexis Arguellas a break from the mound.

Priebe and her teammates indeed took full opportunity over Rio Hondo (3-19, 1-11): up 2-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, ELAC plated seven runs across on unabashed, aggressive play with the bats and on the basepaths. With the mercy win in sight, Priebe, who had not given up a hit or walk in her first four innings, kept up her own aggression on the mound in the top of the fifth. A strikeout, flyout to center, and perhaps the easiest ground ball sophomore 1b Arianna Urias will ever field (Jalyssa Zamudio slapped a weak bouncer right to Urias whose was literally right in front of the bag) secured not just ELAC's first shutout and mercy win of the season (5-16, 2-8), but Priebe's first career no-hitter.

Before being shelved for two weeks, Priebe had struggled on the mound with an ERA well over 8.00. The rest did wonders for her recovery, as she was the sharpest she'd been all season.

"I just wanted to attack the zone," said Priebe after her big win. "Like, location-wise - attack the zone and make sure I throw hard."

After initially jumping out to a 2-0 in the first inning, the Pack smelled Roadrunner blood but could not take another good bite out their visitors... until the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore C Sophia Arvizu led off with a single to right (and was pinch-ran for by Jocelyn Solorzano). Next, Priebe sacrificed Solorzano to second and freshman DP Adriana Martinez then singled to right-center, moving Solorzano to third (Martinez took second on the throw in from the outfield). Freshman SS Nayeli Priest tried the safety squeeze, but her bunt was fielded cleanly by Rio P Alexia Mayorga, who threw to first to nab Nayeli while holding the runners. Instead of being cautious with two-outs, the Huskies got more aggresive, swinging in many cases on the first pitch and taking an extra an base every chance they got. 

The result - all with two-out: a single, single, error, single and double that drove in a total of seven runs. 

With the mercy rule in play, East LA had a one-run cushion to close out the game in the fifth. They didn't need it.

HUSKY BITS

• Priebe's final line was 5 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB and 2 Ks. She's credited with an official no-hitter, but not a perfect game because the game would have had to gone seven innings to count. It was her first shutout of the season.
• Rivas went 2-3 with 4RBI and a run.
• Freshman CF Zyanne Diaz went 2-3 with 2RBI and two runs.
• Sophomore LF Nathaly Ochoa also went 2-3 with two runs.
• Arvizu went 2-3 with an RBI.
• It was the second annual Women in Sports Day celebration hosted by Softball. Student-athlete representatives of ELAC Women's Wrestling, Basketball, Volleyball, Water Polo, Swim & Dive and Track & Field were on hand for pregame photos and a ceremony.

UP NEXT:

As much as the Huskies would love to soak in such a dominant win, they have one more game tomorrow before the weekend hits as they host the dirty birds Falcons of Cerritos College at 1pm.