LBCC’s softball game vs El Camino was a battle of the cousins in the end as Vikings’ catcher Breanna Lucero singled against her cousin, Warriors’ pitcher Gabriela Ortega to spark a six-run, seventh inning walk-off 10-9 victory on Feb. 23.
“I felt good because I knew we were going to score in the inning. I just wanted to keep my composure and get a base hit and not overdo it,” Lucero said.
Lucero’s father who was at the game mentioned that they’ve been duking it out since they were kids and it’s always fun to watch.
This family affair ended with Lucero’s hand being raised as the Vikings walked it off in the seventh inning.
The comeback was capped off with Vikings’ right fielder Alynna Gonzalez hitting a two-run triple to right field.
El Camino came out of the gates red-hot with the bats in the first inning as the Warriors got the best of LBCC starting pitcher Bayleigh Fry by putting eight runs on the board in the first inning.
Relief pitcher Mariah Zapata replaced Fry on the mound as Fry’s day ended before the top of the first inning came to a close.
Zapata looked sharp coming out of the bullpen, giving up only one run and three hits through six innings pitched.
“I knew the whole time that we were going to win and I knew that I was able to do my job and keep us afloat,” Zapata said.
The Vikings came out swinging after a disastrous top of the first inning by scoring 3 runs, with two RBI singles by first baseman Anaya Togia and designated hitter Jordyn Villanueva, as well as a sacrifice fly by third baseman Alejandra Mota.
El Camino answered back in the top of the third inning when shortstop Cheyenne Navarro hit a RBI triple to give El Camino its ninth run of the game.
LBCC wasn’t going down easily after the triple as the Vikings answered back with an RBI single by center fielder Robin Garcia in the bottom of the fourth inning.
It was a quiet rest of the game before the battle of the cousins took place with Lucero facing Ortega to begin the Vikings; comeback effort in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Lucero won the battle with a leadoff single, followed by multiple hits from her teammates, leading to Warriors pitcher Kat Gutierrez taking over as pitcher for Ortega.
Guttierez’s fortunes would turn out to be the same as Ortega’s with the Vikings securing more hits as they started to rack up a few runs on the board.
El Camino finally got its first out of the inning, but not before the game became 9-8 with the Vikings inching closer to a comeback win.
LBCC right fielder Alynna Gonzalez came up with the chance to be a hero and either tie or win the ballgame and she did just that with a walk-off, 2-RBI triple to end the game in a 10-9 win for the Vikings.
“I know that we are great hitters, so all we had to do is execute. No moment is too big for us,” Gonzalez said.
After the game, Vikings head coach Megan Martinez shared how much of a team effort this was to come out with the victory.
“We started off uncomfortable on the mound, but we have faith in all of our players, every single person contributed to this win. We’re relentless and our bats have been on fire since day one and we’re really excited to keep the ball rolling,” Martinez said.
The Vikings won their next three games and are currently riding a five-game win streak into their next matchup against LA Mission on Friday.