Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
The Cerro Coso softball team hosted Victor Valley on Friday, April 7th, in what was the Coyotes final home games of the season and Sophomore Night. The Coyotes and Rams split the doubleheader with the Coyotes stealing the first game 14-13 but lost the second game 5-4. Head Coach Domonique Hernandez spoke on his team's performance in the split.
"I was happy they got their first win, well technically their second win in conference, they definitely did deserve that. I'm proud of them for staying in the game even though both teams scored a lot of runs we still came out on top," he said. "The second game we didn't come out of the gates and I don't know if we were tired but we weren't ready. They scored four runs off the bat and that was the only four runs they scored all game. It took us until the sixth and seventh inning to score some runs, we need to start that a little bit earlier."
In the first game, Cerro Coso scored 14 runs on 15 hits with 14 RBIs in 34 at bats. Mattie Lane led the team with four RBIs and Kyla Collins had three as the Coyotes trailed 12-7 going into the bottom of the sixth. The Coyotes scored seven runs to take a 14-12 lead and relied on their defense to get the win in the top of the seventh.
The run in the seventh began with Molly Hopkins striking out and Coran Rogers popping out to the shortstop. With two outs, Kristianna Calderon got a hit to reach first and Collins got a hit to the left field wall and turned it into a two-run inside the park home run. Cerro Coso trailed 12-9, with Andrea Romero at bat and she walked. Emily Curtis was at bat and got a hit to move the runner and reach first. Juanita Para was at bat and hit a two-run single to tie the game at 12-12 when the Coyotes scored on a wild pitch earlier in Para's at bat. Allee Thompson was at bat and continued the run with an RBI single, Hopkins went up and hit an RBI double to give the home team a 14-12 lead.
In the second game the Coyotes scored four runs on seven hits with four RBI in 29 at bats. Curtis led the team with two RBIs and the Coyotes left 10 runners stranded on base as the comeback didn't start until the bottom of the sixth trailing 5-0. The home team scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth and held the visitors scoreless in the top of the seventh but could only score a run in the bottom of the seventh.
The Coyotes started the sixth with a triple from Romero and Curtis brought her home with a sacrifice fly for the first Coyote run in the second game. Para got a hit to reach first, Lane hit an RBI double to score Para, and Thompson hit an RBI double to score Lane. Hopkins struck out, Rogers got a hit, but Calderon struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the seventh Collins popped out, Romero reached first after being hit by a pitch, and Curtis got a hit. During Para's at bat Romero was able to steal home to score the final run for the Coyotes.
Hernandez was proud of his team for making multiple runs that saw them take the first game and come short in the second game. He said the runs showed there is a fight in his team and players. Both teams are in a position of trying to find wins with nine players on the roster and the split saw the Coyotes get their second in conference and the Rams got their first. He hopes his team saw that the team who wanted it more got the win as they wanted it more in the first game and Victor Valley wanted it more in the second game.
The doubleheader was the final home game of the season for the Coyotes and will be on the road for the final five games beginning at Chaffey on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Hernandez spoke on the fans that came out to watch the final home game and what he expects from his team when they visit Chaffey.
"I was happy today was Sophomore Night and I was happy what we did for them," he said. "The fans coming out and supporting, I definitely appreciate it that. It's good for the girls because it's the last home game, especially for those sophomores, this is the last time they will be playing on this field. I'm glad that we made it memorable for them.
"Going forward the next two weeks, we have Chaffey on Wednesday and they are going to be a good team. Last time we played them, we played them good for the first five innings so let's go be consistent now and let's go catch a couple dubs."