A fierce two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh inning of the second game of Saturday’s twin bill gives the Wildcats a dramatic win and the series against the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros.
“It really shows the heart of our team and that we can put together good at-bats,” coach Angel Shamblin said after the dramatic victory.
The Wildcats softball team won both games of the doubleheader against the Toros, winning 6-4 in the first game and a 3-2 win in the second game.
In the first game, the Wildcats offense came alive with 14 hits, including three from center fielder Alli Cook and shortstop Emily McEnaney, respectively. The team got on the board right off the bat with three runs in the bottom of the first, off of doubles by McEnaney and Amanda Cordeiro.
With the score 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth, the Wildcats added two more runs off of a single by McEnaney. Cordeiro then singled in Cook to boost the team’s lead to 6-0.
In the top of the seventh inning, pitcher Alex Molina ran into some trouble, giving up four runs to the Toros, but eventually was saved by pitcher Brooke Langeloh to seal the 6-4 win. Molina picked up her fifth win of the season.
In the second game, Cal State Dominguez Hills scored a run in the second and third innings to put the score at 2-0. Langeloh didn’t allow any runs after that, pitching four scoreless innings to keep the Wildcats in it, eventually earning the win.
Being down two runs, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Cordeiro came up to bat and got a hit, sparking a two out rally. Molina then reached first base on an error, and third baseman Courtney Brown singled to load up the bases.
“I went up to that at-bat with the mentality that I was not going to be the last out,” Cordeiro said after the series win. “This game just shows how much fight we have and that we can do anything.”
Catcher Bryn Lesovsky, had a good at-bat, getting walked to bring in one run. Second baseman Kelli Keefe singled to shallow center field to knock in two runs for the walk off win.
Shamblin and Cordeiro both emphasized that the team is confident in their play and Cordeiro said that this is a definite confidence booster.
The Wildcats are now 10-11 overall and 8-8 in conference play. The team will continue play next Saturday with a doubleheader with Pace University starting at noon.
Chance Keenan can be reached at [email protected] or @chancelikelance on twitter.