The Lancers softball team suffered another defeat Tuesday at Brookside Park against Cerritos College, the No. 1 team in the South Coast Conference. The 9-3 loss makes PCC’s overall home record 1-10.Cerritos (28-4, 12-1) dominated the game with solid defense and power hitting.
Falcons second baseman Lindsey Marquez hit a three-run home run in the third inning and catcher Samantha Vaaulu hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning off Lancers pitchers Samantha Gontol and Jenna Martin, respectively.
PCC (7-22, 1-12) showed promise in the second inning when, down by two, second baseman Lupita Contreras hit a double.
After Contreras advanced to third on a Nancy Perales sacrifice bunt, Gontol stole second base after hitting a single.
During a Brianna Casillas bunt, Falcons third baseman Brandi Rummell over threw the ball to first base, giving the Lancers two free bases, bringing in Contreras and Gontol to even up the score at two.
Assistant Coach Wayne Maxwell has said before that the team struggles to keep momentum going during games.
“Once we did something and started the inning, the excitement went through everybody,” Maxwell said. “Then, once one person on this team gets excited, everybody starts to get excited and then they start to try a little bit harder.”
The Lancers’ early momentum halted in the third inning though, when illegal pitch calls seemed to run rampant and the defense struggled.
Cerritos scored five runs in the inning alone, including Marquez’s home run.
The Lancers picked up once again in the seventh inning when they scored another run on an RBI single from shortstop Tiffany Rubin, but by then it was too late.
During PCC’s game against East Los Angeles College (26-5, 7-5) on Thursday, the Lancers struggled with the same problem.
In the 7-1 loss against this year’s Golden West Tournament champions, PCC scored its lone run in the seventh inning, also an RBI from Rubin.
“We can’t give these teams that kind of advantage,” said Maxwell about the runs the Lancers tend to give up early in the game. “We have to go out from the start and just really do our work early.”
The Lancers have a chance to gain some momentum today when they play Long Beach City College (17-14, 4-8) in Long Beach and Tuesday when they play Mt. SAC (20-8, 9-3) at Brookside Park.
Sophomore Samantha Gontol faces a pitcher during Tuesday’s softball game against Cerritos College at home. (Steven Valdez)
- EDITORIAL: Apologize about the real problem - April 23, 2014
- STATEMENT: District apologizes to Oscar winning alum - April 21, 2014
- EDITORIAL: The Forgotten Students - March 26, 2014
