Fullerton was victorious on Wednesday afternoon, as sophomore starting pitcher Lulu Vasquez shuts down the Riverside Tigers by allowing only 1 hit over 6 innings pitched.
The Hornets escaped trouble in the first inning after a walk and an error to put two runners on for the Tigers. With two outs, Vasquez was able to get the Tiger’s Zinaida Preciado to fly out to center field.
With the game tied at zero apiece, the Hornet’s offense came to life in the bottom of the second inning when Vasquez smacked a double to left field and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
A single down the right-field line from freshman Khloe Lilavois brought Vasquez in to give Fullerton a one-run lead. The Hornets tacked on one more run to give them a 2-0 lead over the Tigers.
The Tiger’s offense was quiet until the top of the fourth inning when they strung together two walks to have runners on first and third base. With two out the Tiger’s Jocelyn Ontiveros was thrown out at 3rd base to end the inning and the potential threat.
After working a clean 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, Hornet’s Vasquez found herself in some trouble in the sixth. After issuing a leadoff walk Tiger’s Preciado hit a double to left center field to put runners on 2nd and 3rd.
A walk would load the bases for the Tigers with one out. Pinch hitter Anna Loreto grounded out to right field which brought a runner in for the Tigers. With two out Vazquez brought the heat to strikeout the next batter to end the inning.
Fullerton responded by adding another run in the bottom of the sixth to bring the lead back up to 2 runs. A groundout ended the inning for the Hornets.
Hornets freshman Jessica Lopez came on in relief of Vasquez for the seventh inning worked a clean 1-2-3 inning to earn the save.
Fullerton’s Vasquez’s dominant performance earned her the win pitching 6 innings allowing 1 run on 1 hit with 4 K’s and issuing 4 walks.
The Hornet’s have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games and look to continue their dominant play on Friday when they take on the Cypress Chargers.
Next game: The Hornets will finish a postponed game (Due to lighting conditions) against the Cypress chargers from February on Friday, March 15 at home. After the conclusion of that game, the Hornets will play again on their regularly scheduled game against the Chargers at 2:00 P.M.
