It was the bottom of the fifth, with Riverside leading 1-0. Co-Head Coach Crystal Aguirre decided to bring up two pinch hitters. Madison Beohm stepped into the batter’s box for second baseman Zoey Bautista. Beohm delivered with a liner up the middle on the first pitch she saw into center field. Lily Rice came up to the plate for center fielder Dakoda Hilvers.
Rice laid down a bunt toward Tigers third baseman Alysha Kendrick, who was unable to get a grip on the ball. Rice beat out the play at first base with no throw. Fullerton had opportunities in the first two innings to score in a 3-1 win over Riverside on Thursday. Tigers starting pitcher Giselle Flores Morales was able to make quality pitches to leave the runners stranded. The Hornets continued to grind out at-bats and put base runners on.
Two batters later, Alana Eisel came up to the plate. There were runners on second and third with one out. Eisel took an outside pitch and chopped it over to shortstop Madyson Aguilera, who threw over to first base. Beohm got an excellent jump off third base and was able to score on Eisel’s RBI groundout. That tied the game at 1-1. Aguirre high-fived Eisel, heading toward the dugout.
“So Proud of the resiliency, it started with a couple people off the bench, and sometimes it takes somebody else to get it ignited and get it started,” said Co-Head Coach Marian Mendoza. “I always tell them energy, when you create energy, the other team will create mistakes on the other side.”
Fullerton came into play, winning their last three games. The Hornets took the first two games of the series against Riverside. The Tigers were looking to play spoiler on Sophomore Day and end the season on a positive note.
In the top of the sixth inning, Grace Workman got into some trouble. She got ahead in the count to two batters at 1-2 before giving up walks. Aguirre decided to take out Workman and bring in relief pitcher Sam Vizcarra. There were two runners on with one out, as catcher Ryli Wilson stepped into the batter’s box.
On the first pitch she saw, Wilson lined a ball over to first baseman Toafa Pua, who snagged it in the air. Riverside starting pitcher Morales went too far off the first base bag on the play. Pua took one step to her left and touched the bag at first for a double play to end the inning. Pua and Vizcarra hugged each other in the circle afterwards.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Fullerton looked to build on their momentum. After a four-pitch walk to pinch-hitter Carlie Danovich, Pua placed a bunt toward the left side. Tigers third baseman Kendrick fielded the ball, but once again could not make the play. Kendrick lost her balance and fell, as Pua made it over to first base.
Three batters later, Bautista stepped up to the plate with two outs and runners on second and third. Bautista was aggressive on the first pitch, as she roped a two-run RBI double into left field. Left fielder Juliana Ursino came out of the dugout and pointed at her, while Bautista pointed back. The fans were yelling and cheering after the hit.
During a timeout, Mendoza brought his runners and hitters in for a discussion. Mendoza patted Bautista on the helmet after she came through with a clutch hit.
“Coach Vido talked to me before, and told me, stay out of my head, because in the last inning I watched some pitches go by, and I usually don’t. I usually attack early. My plan was to swing at the first pitch, regardless, foul something off, or make contact, it was inside, and I like inside pitches,” said Bautista.
In the top of the seventh, Vizcarra had her offspeed pitches working. Vizcarra struck out left fielder Jasmine Lemus swinging on a curveball. After issuing a walk, she got right fielder Brooke Bishop on a 0-2 change-up out in front swinging. Second baseman Karly Romero grounded out to shortstop Alexandria Valdez.
“Coach Patti is now calling pitches. She’s in the bullpen with the pitchers all the time. Our only change is our pitch calling from Coach Crystal, who does a phenomenal job. Sometimes you have to change it up to see what’s going on, and there was really no difference in the pitch call. We feel a lot more confident now that you’re gonna lose ball games,” said Mendoza.
Fullerton will head into the playoffs next week, where they will await their opponent. The Hornets have won six of their last seven games after losing five straight games two weeks ago. Bautista believes that keeping it simple will lead them to a deep postseason run.
“As long as we keep it simple and have fun and play for each other and play for God, I think we’ll totally be fine. We definitely have the talent, defensively, offensively, and our pitchers are great, our coaches are great, be relaxed and trust ourselves,” said Bautista.
