The Lancers came back from a 5-game losing streak, winning a mercy-rule victory over Pierce College on Friday at Pasadena’s Robinson Park.
The bases were loaded in the bottom of the fifth after freshman outfielder Brianna Lopez stole third, freshman short stop Anais Sustayta stole second after bunting and taking first base and freshman catcher Raquel Edmonds was walked to first by Pierce relief pitcher Katelyn Vogler. Sophomore utility Breanna Rodrigo hit the line drive out to center field that brought the game-winning run home with a final score of 8-0.
“It was really good,” said Rodrigo. “Usually, I’m not the one to hit the hard hits. It felt good.”
The Lancers scored right off the bat with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and a fourth run in the bottom of the second after sophomore second baseman Justine Zavala belted a homer over the center field wall.
“I wasn’t expecting to get a home run. I was just trying to fix my adjustments after my first at bat and make good contact,” said Zavala.
In the top of the fourth, freshman pitcher Adriana Fernandez took to the mound, relieving sophomore Cierra Newton who pitched the first three innings. Pierce was itching for a piece of the ball and managed to pop-up a few foul balls behind home plate. Freshman outfielder Yecenia Cardenas caught a fly ball to right field for a first out and Fernandez promptly struck out the next two batters, holding their lead at 4-0.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lancers started out strong with two hits to center field. The base runners stole second and third after Pierce pitcher Nicole Linderman threw a low ball to Lancer outfielder Cardenas. After patiently waiting for the right pitch, Cardenas hit a line drive out to center field, bringing two runs in. Cardenas stole home, bringing the score to 7-0 before Rodrigo hit the line drive with the bases loaded, bringing the mercy rule into effect at 8-0.
Lancers head coach Monica Tantlinger said that the win felt good after five consecutive losses, but noted that the last few games weren’t without marked improvement.
“Prior to Friday, every loss had been a step in the right direction,” Tantlinger said. “We played Mt. SAC really well—we lost by three. Mt. SAC is the number one team in SoCal, so for our team to compete like that was encouraging.”
The Lancers softball team has a 9-5 record so far this season.
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