Blackhawks bounce Battlin' Braves

Lompoc [14-12] fell 3-1 in eight innings to #1 seed La Quinta at Lompoc Field. After a defensive webgem of a catch on a foulball by senior shortstop Leanna Corral up against the fence in the top of the inning, the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Junior starting pitcher Jeana Carrillo's lead-off double was converted into a run when junior catcher Lauren Lopes bunt advanced pinch runner Melissa Morrison to third, and sophomore right-fielder Stephanie Baca drove her in with a single over the second base bag.

The Blackhawks tied it up with a line shot homer in the top of the fourth by their pitcher - senior Pricilla "Queen of the Desert" Velasquez. Sophomore Hillary Davis could only watch it go from her post in left field. The score remained knotted at one all until the extra inning, despite rally chances by both sides. Lompoc's half of the sixth was emblematic - leadoff walk followed by a bunt attempt that was popped up short, snared mid-air by the charging third-baseman, and fired to first to pick off the pinch runner for the double play. La Quinta also ran themselves out of an inning, and in the sixth had back-to-back "warning track" screamers that were snared by junior center fielder Elicity Fabing. That inning ended with a slow-rolling grounder to Senior Courtney Dosa at third base who made a real hustle play to nip the runner at first.

In the eight both teams had opportunities to score. The Blackhawks catcher Michelle Ortiz, after twice having check swings ruled no swing by the first base umpire, lined the ball into shallow rightfield, where Baca's throw to Junior Dana Campitelli at first base was ruled late by the same umpire.
The next batter up singled past diving junior Paty Martinez at second, setting up runners at first & second - no outs. Another single, to center, brought in a run, and still left runners at first & second. Brianna Luna's double sent one more run in and left two in scoring position. Carrillo induced a strikeout for the first out and a gounder back to the circle that she threw to the plate to tag out the runner for the second one. Lopes then picked off the runner at third and she was also tagged out at the plate - but the damage was done. Lompoc got a leadoff walk from pinch-hitter sophomore Shandee Berryman, and a two out double from Campitelli, setting up runners on second and third but could not score.

It was a great season ! Thanks Ladies !!