Softball victorious after shaky start

After a shaky start, the Lancers softball team came back to beat the El Camino College Compton Center Tartars in Tuesday’s game.

The Lancers were down 3-0 at the end of the first inning and unable to answer back. Brianna Lopez took over the mound at the top of the second inning, replacing Cierra Newton. Lopez was able to momentarily shut down the Tartars until the middle of the third inning, trailing 6-0.

“I was really nervous, it was neck to neck and when they would hit pop ups that looked over the fence I was really scared but I feel we did good, we came back,” said Lopez, who pitched for the remainder of the game.

The Tartar’s lead, however, would be shortened in the bottom of the third when Breanna Rodrigo started a rally that would bring the Lancers back to life. Executing a beautiful slap down the third baseline, Rodrigo found her way to second base and eventually crossed the plate thanks to Justine Zavala, whose triple came just short of flying over the fence. Further in the lineup, freshman third baseman Jackie Aguilar also hit a triple followed by Alejandra Grimaldo’s base hit, which brought Aguilar and made the score 6-4.

The score was tied at the end of the fourth inning and Zavala once again drove in another runner, Yecenia Cardenas (who stole two bases), before scoring herself after Katelyn Thordason split the gap between first and second.

A tight top of the fifth led to Cardenas scoring on an overthrow to home plate, which would be the last run of the game. Cardenas also robbed a home run the following inning, a major play for the Lancers.

“I wasn’t thinking anything, I just knew that I had to get the ball and [make the] play,” Cardenas said. “I booked it and I put my hand out there [looking for] the fence and my adrenaline was just pumping and I got it. I was relieved just knowing the fact that I saved it, helped my team out.”

The final inning of the game was one of the easiest for the Lancers. Though the Tartars’ first batter walked, the next three batters were easy outs. The victory breaks the Lancers’ two game losing streak to East LA and Glendale.

“Unfortunately did the same thing we’ve been doing and made a few errors that put us in a hole, but this game was different,” said head coach Monica Tantlinger. “We made some adjustments right away, focused on the little things, focused on quality at-bats, getting the first out; we celebrated the little victories and we were able to string some things together and fight and come back.”

“Coming back from 6-0 is a really big deal for us,” she added. “Compton’s doing well in our conference right now so hopefully that’s a good confidence booster and shows the kids what they’re really capable of.”

The Lancers host Cerritos College on Thursday at Robinson Park. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.