By Rick Assad
When the Providence High softball team paid a visit to Pasadena Poly for a Prep League game a week ago, the visitors claimed an 18-5 mercy rule victory.
On Thursday afternoon at Olive Park, these rivals competed over seven innings but this time the Pioneers fell 7-5 after scoring three runs in the final frame.
The setback snapped an impressive five-game winning streak by the Pioneers (7-4 and 5-3 in league).
“I was expecting a closer game than we mercied them last week,” Providence coach Manny Travieso said. “Too many errors. This is good for us so they can keep working hard.”
The seventh inning began when senior Mia Allinson, who collected two hits, reached on a three-base error and after senior Delailah Lopez lined to left field, senior Gloria Galindo (two hits) knocked in Allinson with a double to left field.
Freshman Madelynn Watts, who was in the circle, grounded to shortstop who speared the hard-hit ball and threw over to first base.
Watts, who doubled in the third inning, struck out 10, walked one and surrendered 10 hits and four earned runs across seven frames.
Patti Workman was in alignment with Travieso with respect to Watts’ outing.
“Maddie did a really good job today. She had 10 strikeouts and only four earned runs,” she pointed out. “Take away our errors and the score would have been a 5-4 victory for us.”
Junior Evangelina Aleman then socked a liner to center field that saw the center fielder run into the outfield fence and fall backward as the ball landed on the other side for a two-run homer.
Freshman Siany Cruz singled to left field, but freshman Sofia Carrillo was called out looking at a third strike from sophomore pitcher Amelia Shin, who yielded 10 hits with three strikeouts, one walk and one hit batter over seven innings.
The scoring began in the second inning as six batters came to the plate for the Pioneers.
Aleman walked to leadoff the frame and took second base on a single to left field by Cruz.
Aleman advanced to third base on a force out and scored on a miscue by the Panthers (8-6 and 5-2 in league).
Pasadena Poly responded with a two-run fourth inning as freshman Kate Asperger drilled a homer to center field that plated junior Eila Chan, who led off with a triple to right field.
The Pioneers used a two-hit fourth inning to even the score at 2-2 as Lopez, who will be attending Cornell University and will also play softball, lined a run-scoring single to center field that plated Allinson, who was safe on an infield single.
“That one bad inning really hurt our team in this game, but our defense was struggling throughout the rest of the game, and we were having a hard time picking up our bats and coming back,” explained Lopez, who singled twice. “Despite this loss, I know what our team is capable of and in the next game we will make much better adjustments sooner in the game to pull through and get the win.”
The Panthers broke the game wide open in the fifth inning as they scored four runs on three hits and three Pioneer errors.
Sophomore Amelia Shin began the stanza with a triple down the left-field line and scored on a one-out single to center by Chan.
Senior Piper Hart, who finished with three hits, singled in the inning and scored.
Pasadena Poly added an insurance run in the sixth to make it 7-2 as Hart’s single to right field scored sophomore Brynn Connolly (three hits), who was safe on an infield hit.
