By Noe Ortega
East Los Angeles College softball fought back to defeat Rio Hondo College 5-2 at home on Thursday.
ELAC won its second consecutive conference match in the South Coast Conference-North and improved its record to 7-8 and an overall record of 14-13.
The Huskies started the game off slow with three hits in the first three innings, but were able to turn the game around in the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs, sophomore shortstop Julie Granadeno hit a single and freshman first baseman Pua Johnson was walked.
Freshman catcher Melanie Torres smashed the ball deep into left field to get two runs batted in off of a triple that gave ELAC the lead.
Freshman second baseman Alyssa Duran followed up with an RBI single that slipped through Rio Hondo sophomore shortstop Samantha David’s hands to bring home Torres and extend the Huskies’ lead.
ELAC pitcher Serena Lopez pitched for three innings and finished with four hits, two strikeouts and one earned run.
Lopez started the second inning with three Rio Hondo players getting hits off of her, including the first run of the game.
With players on third and second base, Lopez was able to finish the inning with two strikeouts and didn’t allow another run.
Sophomore pitcher Majisty Shomo came in during the bottom of the fourth inning and had to motivate her teammates as team captain to get back in the game.
“We like to mix it up. They’ve both (Lopez and Shomo) been in the starting roles, but Shomo came in as a sophomore and took the team. The energy did change with a little rally in the fourth inning. They scored one, but it wasn’t enough to put us away,” said ELAC softball head coach Erika Blanco.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Johnson was walked for the second time in the game and Torres followed up with a single.
ELAC Freshman right fielder Catherine Aquino got two RBI’s and a double off of an error from Rio Hondo freshman third basemen Azucena Enriquez who threw the ball too low and went past freshman first baseman Arianna Amezcua.
The error allowed Johnson and Torres to score and extend the Huskies lead by four runs.
“We had a slow start on hits. Our defense was solid today, but it was our fourth game of the week, so I feel like we pulled through,” said Shomo.
The Huskies were able to win the game, but struggled to get hits in the first three innings with only two.
In the third inning, Rio freshman pitcher Madeline Peralta was at bat and hit a bunt that was called as a foul ball.
Blanco came onto the field to tell the umpire that the ball hit Peralta’s thigh and that she was out.
“The rule is that when you bunt the ball, if the ball hits you when you’re in play, then you’re out.
I saw the batter bunt the ball and it hit her on the thigh outside the box, but he (the umpire) said that she was in the box,” said Blanco.
The Huskies next game will be a home game that was postponed on March 20 due to rain today against conference rivals El Camino College at 3 p.m.