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The Lancers softball team slid back into the Bash at the Beach tournament after a two-game loss against top-ranked Fullerton (No. 6) and Saddleback (No. 9) on Saturday and responded with wins against Orange Coast College (OCC) and Golden West on Sunday.

Although the Lancers allowed one run by OCC in the beginning of the game, they didn’t lose focus. At the top of the second inning, Lancers pitcher Alyssa Madrid struck out two Pirates making a total of 42 strikeouts of the season.

“I set a standard,” Madrid said. “Before every pitch I reenact every exercise that tends to help me.”

PCC then took advantage of the errors made by OCC at the bottom of the second inning and scored two runs. While both teams held each other, shortstop Karina Moreno ended the fourth inning by stealing second base and then scored on Raquel Edmonds’ RBI.

“I tried to work on my batting process more,” Moreno said. “I stayed focused by using the circle method.”

The Lancers were determined to get a win and shook off the losses from the day before.

Going into their last game of the tournament against Golden West, from the start, both teams played solid defense with no errors.

The pace of the game changed when the Rustlers scored two runs at the top of the second inning. The Lancers turned that two-run setback to a four-run lead when utility player Jahaira Badillo hit a three-run RBI-triple bringing in Brenda Rivas, Raquel Edmonds and Karen Najera, improving her batting average to .304.

Badillo kept the momentum going when she scored on a wild pitch thrown by the Pirates pitcher Adriana Barrera, making the score 6-2 in the second inning.

Golden West felt the pressure and held the Lancers to a four-run lead before answering with two runs in the top of the fourth and cutting the lead to two.

From then on, both teams kept a firm defense to end the game with the Lancers winning 6-4.

“We zeroed in on our game plan and [made] sure we provided enough offense”, coach Tantlinger said.

In spite of the loss against Fullerton College, PCC played an aggressive game. They set the tone by hitting hard ground balls and playing a competitive defense. Designated player Derek Blow drove in runs, hitting two RBIs that brought in Karina Moreno at the top of the third and bottom of the fifth. Totaling 20 RBIs of the season.

Although the Lancers didn’t make any errors following the fifth inning Fullerton was consistent with keeping the ball in play and won the game with a final score 3-7.

“We put the pressure on them by hitting hard”, Tantlinger said. “If we can compete against a tough opponent it sets us up to compete in conference.”

Stepping into the first game against Saddleback, PCC’s main focus was to make sure the team provided enough offense to back up pitcher Alyssa Madrid.

Unfortunately, the Lancers were off balance defensively and offensively. With only one run and 4 hits. It was an ugly game as Saddleback had a total of 10 hits and 14 runs. PCC didn’t execute and made it easier for the Gauchos to run with the game with a final score 1-14.

“I knew my team would come back mentally within time so I shook it off”, Madrid said.

Overall, PCC came out strong with two wins in the end and learn from their experience.

“I think overall it was beneficial,” Tantlinger said. “We have to keep moving forward.

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