The Hornets used two big innings at home against the Tigers to stay undefeated on the young season, coming up with a 9-2 win.

The top of the first saw the Tigers load the bases with just one out against the Hornets (5-0) when the Tigers (3-6) hit a line drive to freshman shortstop Cassidy Hornung. She was able to make a nice catch and throw a dart to first base to complete the double play to escape the jam.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Hornets built on the momentum of the inning, ending in a double play. They were able to score three runs to take the lead 3-0, capped off by an RBI single from freshman first baseman Meah Almaraz.

The game seemed to have stalled for a few innings with the score being 4-2 in favor of the Hornets heading into the bottom of the 5th. The bats came alive for Fullerton, as they scored four more runs to make it 8-2 highlighted by an RBI double from sophomore third baseman Alendy Aguilar.

The Hornets starter for the game was freshman Dallas Garcia who was pulled after just two innings. In came the star of the game, freshman Allyson Fuentes in relief. It was a shaky start for Fuentes as she allowed the first two batters to reach base. However, from then on, she would escape the jam and retire eight batters in a row.

“To calm myself down, I would honestly just look around, look at my teammates and remember who I am pitching for. I would talk to myself in either English or mostly Spanish saying “Yes I can” and don’t look for a strikeout, look for an easy ground ball or pop fly,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes put together a stat line of five innings pitched, one earned run, five hits and three strikeouts. She was the game’s winning pitcher improving her record to 3-0 on the season.

Lefty pitcher Chloe Lockhart took the loss for Riverside. She threw a complete game, allowing seven earned runs, 11 hits and two punchouts.

It was a tough game defensively for the Tigers as their defense committed four errors. Most of the Hornets’ runs came off infield singles or groundouts. It seemed to be a ‘small-ball’ game plan for the Hornets, but in fact it was not.

“You know honestly, that wasn’t our game plan. But when we put balls on the ground, you make something happen, I think it’s a lot easier to catch fly balls. So, you know we did a great job with runners in scoring position, and we got those hits to the right side.” Head Coach Crystal Aguirre said.

The Tigers were not going to go down without a fight in the final inning, loading the bases up once again with two outs. Fuentes shut the door on any chances of the Tigers coming back with a strikeout of sophomore centerfielder Sarah Franco-Colis to seal the win.

The Hornets will be at home once again Thursday, Feb.16 at 3 p.m. to face the El Camino Warriors (7-1).