Despite a four-run fifth inning, the softball team didn’t have enough, as the team lost, 8-4, against Long Beach City.

The loss left the team with a 1-8-conference record.

EC will travel today to play against L.A. Pierce at 3 p.m. Later on in the week, they face off against East L.A. College Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Long Beach went into the game strong, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning and scored three more by the fourth. EC rallied in the fifth with four runs of its own, but couldn’t manage to take the lead.

“I think we lost a little focus,” Long Beach coach Shelly McCall said. “(EC) got some good hits and turned them into runs against us.”

Long Beach scored one more run in the sixth inning after EC replaced pitcher Amber Sims with Leslie Suzawa. The score would remain the same the rest of the game.

“We came back after they scored. We scored one more run. That helped the team refocus,” McCall said.

The team had a hard time adjusting to infield changes caused by some absences.

Three overthrown balls to the first basemen allowed Long Beach to score three runs in the fourth.

“We had to go to our old lineup and that kind of threw us off,” Della Timo said. “I also made some errors that affected the team. I have to work on that.”

Unlike other games in which the team didn’t hit well, EC obtained six hits, but Long Beach City had 12.

“We just didn’t hit enough,” Timo said. “We have to work at it so everyone can gain more confidence.”

Despite so many losses, the atmosphere surrounding the team remains positive. The team hopes that its streak of bad luck will come to an end.

With the season nearing an end, the team remains in last place with an overall record of 11-14. The team is tied with East L.A.

“We need to come out more aggressive in the beginning of every game,” Rosalee Journo said. “We were there, but I guess it was just bad luck. They weren’t better than we are, I just think we need to work harder.”