Saddleback chipped away at Fullerton’s lead in the fifth inning. Trailing 6-1, the Bobcats put up four runs on the board. Saddleback was able to figure out Hornets starting pitcher Emma Gamez after the offense sputtered through the first four innings. The key hit came from left fielder Alexis Vanhorn with two outs. Vanhorn blooped a 2-1 change-up into right field that went past Hornets right fielder Alana Eisel, who overran the ball.
Eisel tried to make a shoe-top catch, but instead the ball went underneath her glove and rolled past her. This allowed two runs to score on the play, as catcher Ka’ui Garcia scored all the way from first. Gamez went back into the circle with her head down, while Eisel stared over at the scoreboard. Saddleback was able to capitalize on Hornet miscues in an 8-7 win on Thursday.
The Hornets had an opportunity to get out of the inning after Gamez got center fielder Tessa Arciniega on a slow roller to first baseman Toafa Pua. Pua was unable to make the play as it went underneath her glove and into shallow right field, bringing home another run. That made it 6-5, Fullerton.
Co-head Coach Crystal Aguirre took the ball from Gamez and brought in relief pitcher Sam Vizcarra. Vizcarra recorded the last out, as Saddleback first baseman Samantha Mella rolled a groundball over to third baseman Alexandria Valdez.
“Emma was getting hit, and our defense is not making the routine plays. We need to make the ESPN plays; we didn’t do that as well,” said Aguirre. “[Saddleback] did a good job adjusting to Emma. They started making the adjustments to her pitches, and we didn’t.”
Fullerton came into play after losing their last two games by one run, including a 6-5 loss at Saddleback last Tuesday. The Hornets’ lead in the conference standings was trimmed down to one game, so the tension and pressure were mounting with every pitch and at-bat.
Trailing 7-5, the Bobcats would take their first lead of the game in the sixth inning. Fullerton had an opportunity to limit the damage, but another miscue occurred when catcher Ehva Cifuentes-Zombulovic came up to the plate with two outs and a runner on second. Cifuentes-Zombulovic ripped a grounder over to shortstop Carlie Danovich, who had an easy routine ball.
Instead, the ball bounced off the top of her glove and toward the edge of the outfield grass. Runners were on the corners for pitcher Colette Howren. Vizcarra tried to jam Howren on the inside part of the plate with her screwball, but was unable to get a called strike, as she fell behind in the count 2-0.
On a 2-1 count, Howren took advantage of a mistake pitch on the outside corner and roped it into right-center field for a 2-run RBI double. The ball ricocheted off the ivy and towards right field before Hilvers could retrieve it and hit her cutoff man. This allowed Cifuentes-Zombulovic to score all the way from first base, which gave the Bobcats an 8-7 lead.
“I think we got complacent, and they pushed us back onto our heels. We weren’t ready for that,” said Hilvers.
The Hornet players were in shock after they saw their six-run lead evaporate. Fullerton tried to stage a rally of their own in the bottom half of the sixth. Designated player Lisa Villanueva got behind in the count 1-2 to Howren. Aguirre told Villanueva to stay balanced after getting out in front of a change-up that she missed.
Villanueva snagged an inside pitch from Howren to deep left. The contact had the distance to get out of the park, but the ball went foul for a long strike. After fouling an outside pitch to the right, Villanueva took the next three pitches and drew a leadoff walk. Pua came to the plate and on the second pitch, she tried to sacrifice Villanueva over to second base. Pua popped up the bunt for an out.
Aguirre was not happy when Pua did not execute. She walked away briefly toward the dugout before composing herself. Howren snuffed the Hornets’ rally, as Hilvers would foul out to first baseman Mella.
Aguirre noticed that her team was thinking too much at the plate. She got on Valdez after taking two pitches. Valdez was behind in the count 1-2, as Aguirre told her not to quit. To no avail, Valdez chased a rise ball out of the strike zone to end the inning.
“We started off strong, then we sat on our runs in the second inning, and we didn’t manufacture runs. I don’t think we’re very disciplined at the end of the game,” said Aguirre. “We could have had better quality at-bats.”
In the bottom of the seventh, Howren retired the side 1-2-3, with a pop-up and two flyouts to center field.
Back in the first inning, Fullerton got off to a blistering start, scoring five runs. Leading 1-0, Hilvers hammered an outside fastball into right-center field for a 2-run RBI double.
“I was looking for my pitch, which is usually middle-in, but I also knew that I needed to get runners in, I was looking out,” said Hilvers.
That was followed by second baseman Zoey Bautista, who roped a hanging curveball into right-center field for a 2-run RBI double, making it 5-0 Fullerton.
Saddleback, Orange Coast, and Fullerton are in a three-way tie atop the conference standings.
Fullerton will travel to Saddleback for the rubber match of a three-game series on Friday. Game time is at 2 p.m.
