Coyote Softball Slugs Their Way to a Home Opener

Eduardo Miranda

The Daily Independent

It was the season home opener for the Cerro Coso softball team after missing out on last season. The Coyotes were coming off playing four games at the Glendale David "Hawke" Wilder Memorial tournament. The Coyotes hosted the Taft College Cougars – playing their first game of the season – in a wild seven-inning 16-14 win.

"It was definitely a wild win and I have to say the girls showed fight," said Coyotes head coach Domonique Hernandez. "We were able to overcome adversity, and that was the biggest thing for us. When we were down, we didn't just give up. We came out here and continued to fight, fight, and fight. The score shows for itself."

Taft head coach Amanda Clark said on her team's performance, "definitely on our side it could have gone better. I think it's a learning experience for sure. We can take this game, correct what we need, and move on from there. But I think the girls did show a lot of fight, especially down early in the game, down by at least five, and coming back and ended up pulling out on top until the last inning. I think there is a lot of promise there."

The Coyotes' offense had 39 at-bats for 16 runs on 23 hits with 14 RBIs. They had five batters walk, four strike out, and left 19 runners stranded on base. Lily Rice led the offense with five hits in five at-bats and six RBIs. Rheanna Bell had four hits in five at-bats and three RBIs, and Rosaleena Trujillo had two hits in five at-bats and two RBIs.

In the circle, Cerro Coso started Valery Meza, who went four innings, giving up 16 hits for nine runs, all earned. She walked one batter and struck out two. Trujillo closed the game throwing the final three innings, giving up five runs, all earned, on eight hits. She walked two batters and struck out one.

The Cougars finished with 14 runs and 12 RBIs from 24 hits on 41 at-bats. They had three batters walk, three strike out, and left 14 stranded. Isabella Carson led the team with three hits in four at-bats for four RBIs. Isabella Navarro had three hits for two RBIs in two at-bats. Katelyn Moore had four hits for two RBIs in five plate appearances.

Taft gave the start to Jada Mizner, who threw four innings, giving up nine runs, all earned, on 13 hits. She walked one batter. Ava Heitman threw the final two innings, giving up seven runs with one earned on 10 hits. She walked four batters and struck out four.

In the top of the first inning, Taft College began with leadoff batter Moore getting a hit to reach first and scoring on an RBI from Cadence Mizner. The Cougars left one runner stranded.

In the bottom of the first, the Coyotes had leadoff batter Erica Madrid reach first and Kiara Rocha moved her to second on a walk. Elizabeth Salazar hit an RBI single to center field to tie the game at 1-1. Rice hit an RBI single to left field, giving the home team a 2-1 lead. Trujillo hit an run-scoring single to center field and Bell got a hit to load the bases with a 3-1 lead. Rice scored on a wild pitch for a 4-1 lead, and Jazmine Sotelo got a hit for an RBI to extend it to 5-1. Sadie Taffolla and Diana Lopez both hit fly balls for two outs, and Bell stole home plate for a 6-1 lead. Salazar went up to bat for her second appearance in the inning and hit a fly to right field for the final out.

Hernandez said on his team scoring six runs in the first inning, "that's huge and it sets the tone for the game. Putting up six runs in the first inning is huge for any ball club, and Taft did a good job of coming back. I have to say Taft is a decent ball club, but we were able to continue to keep putting up more runs and more runs. We held them when it was important."

Top of the second, Taft had Hanna Hendricks hit a double to lead off the inning, but J. Mizner was thrown out at first on a bunt attempt and Carson grounded out to first but moved Hendricks to third. Navarro hit an RBI single and Moore hit an RBI double to cut the deficit to 6-3.

Bottom of the second, Salazar reached first with one out and Rice hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 7-3.

In the top of the third, Cerro Coso held Taft scoreless. In the bottom of the inning, Lopez reached first on an error by Taft. Madrid got a hit and moved Lopez to second, and Rocha hit an RBI single for an 8-3 lead.

In the top of the fourth, Taft opened with Hendricks and J. Mizner getting hits to have runners on first and second. The Cougars scored back-to-back runs on back-to-back RBIs from Carson and Navarro, cutting the Coyotes' lead to 8-5.

In the bottom of the inning, Cerro Coso started with a leadoff double by Rice and Bell hit an RBI single to give the home team a 9-5 lead. That also led to Taft bringing in Heitman, who got the final out of the inning.

In the top of the fifth, the Cougars made a run beginning with Laieikawai Keahi hitting a double and Mischa Mott hitting an RBI double. Hendricks got a hit, and Heitman and Carson hit consecutive RBI singles, cutting the deficit to one, 9-8. That brought in Trujillo to pitch and she gave up an RBI single that tied the game at 9-9 before striking out the next batter and getting the final out on a grounder to first.

Cerro Coso responded in the bottom of the inning by loading the bases with Madrid and Rocha walking and Salazar reaching first on an error by the Cougars. Rice hit a two-run double, restoring the Coyotes' lead at 11-9. Bell hit an RBI double to extend the lead.

In the top of the sixth, the Cougars had Keahi and Mott on base and loaded the bases on a hit by Heitman with a Coyote error. Carson hit a two-run double and Moore hit an RBI single to tie the game at 12-12. Wilson hit an RBI single to give the Cougars a 13-12 lead. C. Mizner added another run with an RBI single.

Clark said on her team tying and taking the lead, "it was really good to see, especially as they are still trying to get to know each other, still trying to figure each other out. We moved girls around a little bit. We had some injuries and some things happened, and the fact they were able to come out and still show that fight and pull each other up, it's a lot of promise to me. It looks good."

The Coyote offense took over trailing by two runs and Lopez got a hit to reach first. Madrid struck out and Rocha walked to have runners on first and second. Salazar hit a line drive to the Cougar shortstop for the second out. Rice hit a two-run double to tie the game and shift the momentum back to the home team. Trujillo and Bell hit back-to-back RBI doubles, giving Cerro Coso a 16-14 lead.

In the top of the seventh, Trujillo was able to retire the side with Mott hitting a flyball to right field, Hendricks grounding out to second base, and Heitman grounding out to first.

Hernandez was nothing but pleased with his team's resilience, staying calm, and continuing to play their game when Taft tied the game and took the lead. He said, "that just shows they have a strong mentality. I was so happy to see that. I was happy to see the girls – even when they kept coming back and the game was tied at one point – we did not give up. Especially in the sixth inning when it was tied, we came up with some huge base hits and executed when we needed to with some huge runs."

Clark spoke on the mistakes made by her team that cost them a chance to earn a win and the excitement for the season after a wild start.

"The fact that it is things we can fix is very good to see it," the Cougars coach said. "It's the start of the season so it could be first-game jitters. We kind of expected it, but there are some we work on at practice all the time. We know the girls can do it, maybe getting the first-game jitters, first-game excitement out of the way. It's definitely first game. Offensively they did good, and defensively we will have to work on some things. It wasn't a lot either. They Coyotes hit the ball very well. They were able to find the holes we weren't. Just minimizing the ones that come to us or minimizing the damage when we do get to make a play.

"I'm so excited. I think seeing the fight, seeing the excitement out of the players, even those last three innings I'm so excited to see what they can do. They showed themselves they can do it, coming back from a deficit, and have that energy. We talked about having it from the start, so I'm really excited to see what they do when they bring that energy from the start."

For Hernandez, he is excited to win the season home opener. He said, "I'm planning to get some more wins this upcoming season. That is what I'm looking for. I can see the potential in them and just have to stay on them. They are coming out here to go out and compete. That is all I ask from my players, to come out here, compete, and at the end of the day that is all I ask for, to come out and compete."

Cerro Coso is on the road with a doubleheader at Oxnard College. The Coyotes return home to host San Diego City in a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 7. Taft College visits Desert on Saturday for a doubleheader and hosts Chaffey in a doubleheader on Tuesday, Feb. 4.