Eric Esquibel
Staff Writer
The La Verne softball team earned a 3-1 victory in their season opener against Hope International on Feb. 9 at Campus West. This win was followed by two more wins against Pacific Oregon University last Friday.
With the three wins against the Royals and the Boxers, the Leopards started their season undefeated and will begin their search for their first win in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.
Junior catcher Natalia Aguilera, batting a .500 with two RBIs through the first three games, said the Hope International game has set the tone for the season.
“Every game we’ll play like it’s our last since we will never know if we will get cut short again,” Aguilera said, “As for now we are taking each game at a time and keeping our fighting mindset till we make it to SCIAC.”
The Leopards found themselves setting the pace for the offense as they started the first inning with bases loaded after hits from sophomore center fielder Haylee Hsieh and senior utility player Katheryn Navarro. Although the Leopards were unable to earn a run in the first inning, they had four more hits the rest of the night.
Hsieh found herself on base twice throughout the game. She credits this season’s success to her team’s great chemistry.
“I feel like this year our team has really great chemistry and when we get on the field it really shows,” said Hsieh. “Knowing that there’s always someone to pick you up after an error or cheer you on during an at bat is really helpful and gives you more confidence, which in turn leads to success.”
Junior pitcher Rachel Rubio held the Royals hitless for more than half of the game. Rubio only allowed three hits all game, and was excited to be back on the mound.
“As soon as I got to the mound and threw my first pitch (for a strike) I knew it was going to be a good game,” Rubio said.
The Leopards got the scoring started in the third inning when sophomore designated player Jocelyn Robertson drove in Hsieh with a single.
The rally continued during the fourth inning. After two singles and an error to load the bases, Hsieh walked to bring in freshman left fielder Ashley Rodriguez. Then a sacrifice pop fly by junior first baseman Marissa Acosta, brought the lead up to 3-0.
The Leopards were then able to hold the Royals to one run for the rest of the game.
“Our team’s defense was very solid this game with very few hiccups,” Acosta said, “We communicated very well on the field and worked together as a unit to keep their runs to a minimum.”
The Leopards went on to beat the Pacific Oregon Boxers in back-to-back wins on Friday evening at home, 10-9 and 7-2.
The Leopards will return to action with a doubleheader at Campus West against the Brandeis Judges starting at 4 p.m. Wednesday. They follow that with a visit to Pomona-Pitzer on Feb. 25 to begin SCIAC play.
Eric Esquibel can be reached at eric.esquibel@laverne.edu.
Eric Esquibel, a senior broadcast journalism major, is a staff writer for the Campus Times.
