The Fullerton Indians offense dominated the field Friday afternoon, leading them to a 15-5 victory over the Troy Warriors in the last game of their three-game series. This cross-town rival is as nitty and gritty as they come and the Indians walked away with the intensity they needed to finish off their league season strong over the next two weeks.
Fullerton came out powerful from the start and their offense remained consistent throughout the entire game.
In the second inning with bases loaded and Fullerton already on the scoreboard, senior Justin Kim dropped a triple into the outfield, bringing in three runs for the Indians.
Kim was unknowingly setting a momentum for his team that would last for the rest of the game.
“I was just trying to get to first that, was my one goal… I was just trying to put the ball in play and the rest is history,” said Kim.
Troy put up two points following Kim’s triple, but their offense was stopped short of making it a tie game after Fullerton’s first baseman, Roberto Salazar tagged the Warriors third base runner.Once the gloves came off, Fullerton became a force to reckoned with.
In the bottom of the third inning, senior Jack Anderson sent a homerun flying over the fence, brining everyone in the stands and the dugout to their feet.
“It felt amazing, I knew they were going to throw me fastball…I got the fastball I wanted down low and I just took it and drove it,” Anderson said.
After Anderson’s homerun, the Indians found themselves with bases loaded once again and a pitcher change on Troy’s mound. Senior Mikey Hernandez adjusted to the change, hit a double right over the head of the Warriors, bringing in two runners, putting the Indians up, 8-4.
As the Indians continued to increase their lead they once again found themselves with bases loaded and senior Roberto Salazar striding to the plate. Needing just a base hit to get another run in, Salazar sent the ball flying over the fence for a homerun, expanding the Indians lead, 13-4.
With a change to their batting lineup in the last few innings, Fullerton held their lead and beat the Warriors, 15-5.
Head Coach Tony Gonzalez was proud of the way his team played, the adjustments they made and the momentum they had were all key factors in a formula for success.
“The guys went up there, they saw their pitches… were hunting fastballs and we did a good job. We barreled out the ball and the ball fell,” Coach Gonzalez said.
Fullerton (8-3) remains behind Troy (9-2) in the Freeway League standings, but remain a competitive contender for first place. They will face La Habra this coming week followed by Sonora in their last week of league play.
“We need to maintain, stay where we’re at with the intensity, with the atmosphere we have right now, and continue to build and try to get better every single game. We’re playing La Habra and we got Sonora, both those teams play us tough every single year, so we’re going to find out real soon what we’re made of as a team,” Gonzalez said.
Fullerton’s next game will be at home on Friday May 5th against La Habra.
