In the top of the seventh inning of the El Camino softball game against the visiting Cypress Chargers, someone peeled out of the parking structure behind the stands and set off car alarms.
An ominous coincidence as there was an alarming getaway on the field too, for Cypress — temporarily shocked by the Warriors rally on that March 3 afternoon — tied the game moments later and won in the eighth inning, 5-4.
Cypress coach Brad Pickler said his team corrected itself just in time.
“We should have lost the game,” Pickler said. “(El Camino) battled. They ran on us, which they like to do and they’re the best team we’ve played so far.”
Action opened with Cypress (14-0) chasing starting pitcher Haley Reed off the mound in the first inning and taking a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore pitcher Brooke Sarro came off the bench to pitch and calmed things down, allowing EC a chance to regroup and rally.
“We fought through it. Brooke threw a great game today,” Kaitlyn Hooper, Warriors’ assistant coach, said. “They had a few hits fall, we had a few hits where the other team made some great plays. It could have gone either way. We almost had it.”
Sophomore outfielder Raelani Camez said the Warriors refused to feel overwhelmed by the Chargers’ first inning performance.
EC (9-4) got on the scoreboard in the second inning, with sophomore infielder Kamryn Fisher hitting a RBI single to bring home Reed.
In the third inning, with the Warriors down 3-1, Camez scored after stealing two bases and taking advantage of Alyssa Wing’s hit.
Camez would figure in again during the fifth inning. After sophomore outfielder Kattya Calderon hit a single, Camez’ bunt was misplayed by Cypress, with the ball thrown deep past first base. That allowed Calderon to tie the game 3-3.
When Camez headed for home plate later in the inning, the throw home bounced off the catcher, allowing her to score and giving EC a 4-3 lead.
But Cypress overcame its errors and a silent sixth inning, with Sydney McCollum sliding underneath sophomore catcher Brigid Antonelli’s mitt in the seventh to tie it. McCollum later batted in the game-winning run in the eighth inning.
