A light drizzle wasn’t enough to extinguish the hot bats of the El Camino softball team as it secured its season-high sixth straight win on Thursday.
The Warriors (22-11, 11-5) improved to 14-2 at home with a 5-2 victory against the L.A. Harbor College Seahawks (10-19, 5-11).
This win earned El Camino a sweep of the season series against the Seahawks.
The home team got on the scoreboard first after freshman third baseman Maleigha Quintero hit a sacrifice fly to center field in the first inning that allowed freshman catcher Brigid Antonelli to score from third base.
The Seahawks countered with a double in the second inning, which ultimately resulted in a run after pitcher Natalie Francis rolled the ball out of play without first calling a timeout. The umpire ruled it a dead ball and allowed the runner to advance two bases.
Freshman center fielder Raelani Camez answered back with a two-RBI triple in the bottom half of the second inning to put the Warriors ahead. Camez later scored on a sacrifice fly from Antonelli to provide some insurance.
A late attempt at a rally fell short for the Seahawks in the sixth inning as the Warriors’ defense turned a double play to get out of the inning only allowing one run.
(L.A. Harbor) is a good hitting team, so getting the first out of the inning was big for us,” Warriors coach Jessica Rapoza said. “Natalie didn’t have any walks either, which helped us, because if you make teams earn every base that they get it kind of goes in your favor.”
Francis (12-6) tossed a complete game, allowing six hits and one earned run. This win puts her in second place in the South Coast Conference.
The Warriors racked up a total of eight hits in 22 at-bats, while the Seahawks collected six hits in 26 at-bats.
Freshman right fielder Kattya Calderon led the Warriors with two hits in two at-bats. Freshmen left fielder Taylor Richter, pitcher Haley Reed, shortstop Vanessa Gutierrez, Camez, Antonelli and Quintero each had one hit in the game.
“I felt pretty confident today and I’m just starting to get back into (a rhythm),” Calderon said. “Our team is really jelling right now and I think we can finish out these last couple of games and hopefully have a strong spot in the playoffs.”
The Warriors will play a conference game on the road at East Los Angeles College (14-18, 6-9) on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
