Despite an 8-4 loss to Pasadena Thursday, the womens’ team beat Rio Hondo, 8-4 Monday as they get ready for a week without any games.

The team will play again Tuesday versus Long Beach and then hit the road to face L.A. Pierce next Thursday.

EC took an early lead and took command of the game, never giving Rio Hondo the chance to recover. By the third inning, the women were ahead 3-0 and held the lead with consistent hitting and solid defense.

“The team we played is very good,” coach Susan Calderon said. “They’re a good hitting team; that’s why they’ve only lost one game.”

Consistency throughout the game helped the team win despite a couple of errors.

“We were hitting well,” center player Leslie Higgins said. “Defensively, we didn’t make too many errors.”

“The team looked real good,” second base Brittany Lina said. “Our hitting was great and spirits were high. Everyone played well.”

Pitcher Amber Sims worked all seven innings, striking out four batters and got herself out of a squeeze twice when she had runners on second and third base.

“Our pitcher looked strong out there today,” Calderon said. “She is getting stronger every day.”

The team had seven hits. That was a big difference compared to its game with Cerritos where it only had one hit.

Carey Lloyd had a RBI in the first inning while Bristol Sims and Leslie Suzawa both had two run RBIs in the bottom of the sixth.

Unfortunately for the team, most of its wins have come from non-conference games. It’s record during these competitions is 1-7.

“I don’t know why we don’t do well in conference games,” Higgins said. “Somedays we get it down and other days we don’t.”

The tournament at Golden West this past weekend was used to make a few adjustments in the lineup: most of the changes were in the infield. What came from these minor adjustments were some positive results.

“This weekend we made changes in the whole infield,” Calderon said. “We played the whole tournament with a different lineup and we did well.”

Despite the changes in the lineup, there was a good vibe generated on behalf of the players.

“The players I pulled out of the lineup have been very good about it,” Calderon said. “I know I can put any of those players back in if I need to.”

With seven days until its next game, the team plans to take two days off before resuming practice in preparation for Long Beach.

“We’ve all been working very hard,” Calderon said. “It’s tiring for both players and coaches. We all could use a little break.”

The team maintains a positive attitude about games to come and knows what it has to do in order to obtain these much-needed wins.

“Our goals are to make fewer than two errors per game and have everyone on the team get a hit,” Higgins said.