Fresh off a Nor Cal Classic Tournament appearance, the Delhi High varsity softball team was looking to begin a winning streak heading into the final half of league play, as they came off a 5-3 win over Durham in their final game of the tourney this past Saturday, but instead ran into a wall on Tuesday.
The Hawks of Delhi (3-5) hosted the Southern Athletic League first place Warriors of Orestimba (6-1) and managed to score first but then the Warriors outscored the Hawks and took advantage of the home team's seven errors en route to an 11-6 victory.
“They are very solid at hitting and you can't take any credit away from them because they are a very solid hitting team,” said Delhi head coach Tami Tela. “Anything you throw they are willing to hit and they are patient at the plate and it shows.”
In the Nor Cal Classic the Hawks fell in the opening two games to Los Banos, 1-8 and then to Santa Teresa 0-1 before beating Durham (13-6) by two runs and solidifying a victory for the tournament.
“It was ok at the end. We were in the Gold bracket that maybe we should have not been in for as inexperienced as we are,” said Tela. “We had to make a lot of switches because of Easter break but we came together at the end and pulled through for the win.”
The Hawks were back in their home territory on Tuesday and began with a bang after tacking on the first run of the game and taking a 1-0 lead after the opening inning.
Then in the second, the Hawks had bases loaded but unfortunately could not score a run in the process and the Warriors then began their rally in the top of the third after multiple errors on the Hawks part defensively.
After the third the Warriors had jumped out to take a 4-1 lead.
“What we need to do is quit making the errors and then it’s a different ball game if we just stop with the errors,” Tela said. “Our errors are still the problem.”
The Hawks did not go down without a fight as they grinded out the remainder of their at-bats despite falling short and it began with a solo home-run shot from Brianna Lopez over the center fielder to make it 4-2, but then Orestimba starting pitcher Gianna Pedrazzi managed to get out of the jam.
Orestimba would score two runs in the fourth and fifth inning, followed by three runs in the sixth inning and before the Hawks went up in the bottom of the sixth, they were down 2-11.
The Hawks then took advantage of relief pitcher Celeste Amescua as they scored four runs with two outs, to cut the deficit to five runs after the sixth.
“Most of our runs we score with the top of the batting order as opposed to the bottom, which is a bit weaker,” said Tela. “We hold our breath at times, but it was a great effort. They did not strike out, they just did not get the bloopers, but if they can continue to hit then they will eventually fall, but that is where we are right now.”
Unfortunately the Hawks could have came away with more as their final out came in a pickle play between third and home, a safe call at third would have made the bases loaded—again.
“We had bases loaded three times today,” said Tela about leaving batters on base. “With fast hands, we can't wait and it’s hurt us because we can't wait at the plate. We did not wait at the plate and that's a big deal, but we still struggled today.”
Starting pitcher Alyssa Stockton batted 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk. Lopez was 2-for-3 with two RBI, a walk and a home-run.
As a team, Orestimba managed to come away with 13 hits for the game.
The Hawks are still in postseason contention, but with a losing record they must win out as they currently sit in fourth place, with five teams ahead of them, two of which are tied.
Delhi's next game will be at home against Denair at 4 p.m. today.
“We still have a chance for the postseason because everybody is up and down,” Tela said.
