Originally written for publishing on March 28, 2013.
The Fullerton college softball team came out Wednesday determined to clean up mistakes of the past and displayed what they believes the future holds. The Hornets showed an excitement and aggression right from the start, which carried them to a 19-0 shutout, beating of the Orange Coast Pirates in five innings at home.
“I didn’t want any of them to score. I wanted to mercy them,” said starting catcher Victoria Merida.
The Hornets broke open the game early, scoring 10 runs in the first inning, which saw 13 FC batters come to the plate. The Hornets were aggressive on the base paths, stealing two in the inning and routinely advancing on Orange Coast miscues. The Pirates could not seem to get out of their own way in the first, allowing four walks and four errors.
The Hornets tacked on another seven runs in the fourth inning to completely put the game out of reach.
“I am proud of how we did as a team and I think our hitting was really good today,” said FC starting pitcher Alyssa Felipe.
Everyone in the Hornet’s starting lineup got a hit except Felipe, who managed to draw two walks at the plate. Five Hornet players had multiple hits in this game with every starter either scoring a run or driving one in. First basemen Nicole Chapman had the biggest afternoon, finishing the game with three hits, four RBIs and a run scored in four plate appearances.
Before the game, the Hornets had to close out a game that began on Feb. 26 but was suspended due to darkness. In that game, the Hornets lead 14-9 in the bottom of the eighth inning, leaving the Hornets two outs away from that win.
“We were pretty pumped. It was an opportunity for us to beat them, finish that game and come back in with our mindset that we can beat them again,” said co-coach Marian Mendoza.
After walking the first batter, Felipe got the next batter to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end that game.
“I was a little bit nervous in the beginning because we had to finish the first game. I got that out of my head,” said Felipe. “It put more intensity toward the second game”
The efficiency of the first game seemed to carry over into the second as Felipe continued to shut down the Pirate offense. In five innings pitched, she allowed only one hit and three walks while striking out three. This was Felipe’s fourth win of the season.
“She [Alyssa] has been getting so much better and has way more focus on the game,” said Mendoza. “Sometimes she gets behind in the count but she works her way out of it.”
Next up for the Hornets, they have a week off before hitting the road Wednesday against Santa Ana College. Their next home game is next Friday at 2 p.m. versus Santiago Canyon College. In the meantime, the team thinks they have the formula for continued success.
“Trying to take down the errors as much as possible for when we do play the other teams in the conference,” said Chapman. “[we’re] going to turn conference around. I’m sure we’ll be able to do it.”
