In the bottom of the sixth inning, outfielder Ellen Omoto stepped up to the plate under the blazing hot sun.
Two wasted swings left the Warriors on the verge of another loss.
It was the last chance to turn the game around as the L.A. Harbor College pitcher Shawnae Campbell looked on from the mound.
Then there was the step, the windup and the pitch.
Omoto made contact with the ball, sending it into right field where it landed right into the outfielder’s glove.
The out ended the Warriors hope as they lost to the L.A. Harbor Seahawks, 11-1.
“I felt like I made the best contact I could with that pitch,” Omoto said. “My goal was to make solid contact and I tried my best.”
The Warriors’ next game is at Cerritos College today at 3 p.m.
“It’s unfortunate that we started off so poorly,” coach Susie Calderon said. “We’ve faced some good, tough teams this season.”
Compared to the last time the Warriors played the Seahawks, the errors dropped considerably and the team improved a lot, Calderon said.
“When you make a lot of errors you can’t really compete against anybody doing that,” Calderon said. “That makes the difference in the game.”
The Warriors made eight errors the first time they played the Seahawks this season, but in their recent rematch, only two errors were made.
“What I like about these guys is that their improving progressively and it’s nice to see that,” Calderon said. “( Sara Gazzaniga) pitches a lot of games for us and she puts forth the effort and that’s all we could ask,”
Starting pitcher Gazzaniga allowed 10 hits including three doubles, six singles and walked one batter.
“Once she gets in her groove, she might not get many strikeouts but she can get them to hit those deep fly balls,” Calderon said.
“Our whole pitching situation has been a disaster this year. You can’t foresee injuries, but they happen,” she said.
Pitcher Mea Flores, who currently holds the lowest earned run average in the conference, injured her throwing arm halfway through the season. In addition, Gazzaniga injured her finger and sat out a few games this season.
After Gazzaniga pitched five innings, relief pitcher Vivian Santacruz came in for the sixth and final inning
“But with (Santacruz), honest to goodness, I don’t know what it is when I put her in, they just can’t hit against her,” Calderon said.
The Warriors dominated Compton college last Tuesday shutting out the Tartars 15-0, where Santacruz almost pitched a no hitter.
“Overall I think we started out really rough this year, but we’re building and getting better,” Omoto said.
