It was the top of the fifth with Fullerton leading 1-0 in game two in a best-of-three. Runners were on second and third with nobody out for third baseman Lisa Villanueva. On a 1-0 count, Villanueva squared to bunt and placed it toward the right of the pitcher’s circle. Left fielder Juliana Ursino got a great jump off third base. El Camino starting pitcher Estrella Tapia tried to flip it over to catcher Trinity Martinez for the force out.
The ball went wide of Martinez and toward the backstop, scoring Ursino. Martinez was able to pounce on the ball and throw out right fielder Alana Eisel at home plate. Two batters later, designated player Anela Quinones stepped into the batter’s box. Quinones took a low fastball and lined it off Tapia’s thigh. The ball ricocheted into left field for an RBI single in a 6-2 game two victory on Saturday.
Game one went the way of El Camino, as they capitalized on Fullerton’s defensive miscues in a 6-3 win. The Hornets were looking to get back on track and not only force a decisive Game 3 but also take the series.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Warriors got on the scoreboard. Designated player Emma Padilla smashed a two-run homer to right-center field on a 3-2 count, cutting the Hornet deficit to 3-2. The players assumed that the ball was in the yard until the first base umpire called it a home run. The home plate umpire called right fielder Emily Gamboa out at home after Hornets second baseman Zoey Bautista made a perfect throw.
El Camino Associate Head Coach Michael Smith and Head Coach Jessica Rapoza came out and told the home plate and third base umpire that the ball left the yard. The three umpires came together and decided it was a home run. Fullerton Co-Head Coach Marian Mendoza came out saying it’s gotta be clear. Mendoza believed that the ball did not go over the wall.
There was a mix of emotions from both fan bases on the call.
In the sixth inning, the Hornets responded with some runs of their own. After two groundball outs, Ursino came to the plate. On a 1-0 change-up, Ursino smashed a solo home run into left field. Co-Head Coach Crystal Aguirre high-fived Ursino rounding the bases, while her teammates jumped out of the dugout and toward home plate.
“I was looking for her to miss her spot. She had pitched me a change-up inside that first pitch strike. I kind of expected it to be inside again, and when I saw it, it was the same exact pitch, and when I saw it, I swung at it,” said Ursino.
Two batters later, Villanueva stepped into the batter’s box with a runner on first and two outs. Villanueva pounced on the first pitch she saw from Tapia. Tapia missed her location on a fastball, as Villanueva blasted a two-run homer over the left-center field wall. That made it 6-2. As Villanueva’s teammates swarmed her at home plate, the Hornet fans erupted with words of encouragement to the team.
“In between game one and game two, something really fired them up to get that W. Unfortunately, they didn’t keep that fire in between games,” said Aguirre.
That is all the run support Fullerton starting pitcher Grace Workman needed. Workman retired nine of the last ten batters she faced, after giving up the two-run homer in the fifth.
In a winner-take-all game three, it was a different story. Neither team could put runs up on the board in the first three innings. Fullerton had an opportunity to score first. Designated player Quinones stepped into the batter’s box with runners on the corners and two outs. Quinones ripped a fastball off El Camino starting pitcher Raquel Alonso toward third base. It had base hit written all over, but the Warriors’ Kate Pedroza dove to her left for a stabbing catch on a liner.
In the top of the fourth inning, El Camino scored first. Pedroza got ahead in the count 3-1 on Hornet starting pitcher Sam Vizcarra. On the next pitch, Vizcarra left a fastball out and over the plate that Pedroza tattooed into left field for a solo homer. El Camino fans were animated after the blast, while the Fullerton fans were letting the team know to get the next batter. The Hornet players gathered around in a circle to settle each other down.
Vizcarra would keep it at 1-0 after getting a groundout to third base and a flyout to left field. Fullerton was looking to get their offense going. In the sixth inning, Aguirre decided to have a team meeting with her players down the right field line. After a Pua groundout, Quinones stepped into the batter’s box. On a 1-0 count, Quinones took an outside pitch and roped it into right-center field off the ivy for a long single.
Second baseman Bautista came to the plate. After she fouled off the first pitch, Aguirre saw that Bautista was impatient. Bautista got jammed on an inside screwball. Aguirre told her that it’s gotta be good, gotta be your pitch. After taking two pitches out of the strike zone, Bautista hit a hot shot over to El Camino second baseman Sophia Munguia. Munguia gobbled it up and threw it over to shortstop Ho, covering second base for one. Ho threw it toward first base for a double play.
“I don’t think we have timely hits. You go back to yesterday, and I think we had 11 or 12 hits, and we stranded so many runners. Even today, we have runners on almost every inning. Sometimes two runners on, and we couldn’t produce any runs,” said Aguirre.
In the top of the seventh inning, El Camino added an insurance run. Designated player Padilla stepped into the batter’s box with a runner on third and two outs. Hornet pitcher Vizcarra got Padilla to hit a slow roller over to Villanueva at third base. Villanueva took her time to gather herself and make an accurate throw across the diamond at first base. Instead, Villanueva’s throw went into the dirt, and first baseman Pua was unable to scoop up the throw.
Warriors pinch runner Abigale Dedech scored on the play, making it 2-0. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Hornets catcher Faith Krueger lined a single into left field to start the rally. Pinch hitter Carlie Danovich came to the plate with one out. Warriors pitcher Alonso got Danovich to ground into a fielder’s choice for the second out. Juliana Ursino was the tying run at the plate.
On a 1-1 count, Ursino hit a two-hopper over to third baseman Pedroza, who threw over to first base for the final out of the game. The Fullerton players got emotional after the game was over, knowing that they would not be playing with each other.
“I’m gonna miss our singing and dancing and being silly and how close we are,” said Ursino.
The Hornets’ season ends on a sour note, and Aguirre will miss being around the players.
“I told them this morning I wasn’t ready to let them go. Probably one of the best teams that I’ve had in a long time, meaning the best team. They’re kind-hearted, respectful young ladies, and I’m so thankful to their parents for raising these young ladies. I couldn’t ask for a different bunch,” said Aguirre.
