Vikings softball loses their second game of the season

The Vikings lost 2-1 to the Cerritos Falcons on Feb. 17 after pitcher Adalise Valenzuela went all seven innings, moving their record to 9-1. 

The Cerritos Falcons were first on the board. Fortunately, catcher Zara Mineo played an intense first inning, hitting a double, stealing third and then running home to tie the game at one at the end of the first inning. 

“We treat every team the same. This is a conference game for us and so they’re a big cross-town rival. We’re only 10 minutes away and so a lot of players know each other and we’ve coached against each other for 10 years and so it’s just an exciting game,” said Megan Martinez, head coach. 

_{Viking’s pitcher Adalise Valenzuela, faces Cerritos for their first conference game Feb. 17 at LAC. The Vikings defended their title in a pitching dual with a loss 2-1. (Diosa Hippolyta)}

As the game continued, Valenzuela shut down the Falcons with a key tag at home by Mineo and clutch strikeouts, while the outfield defense kept the game close. 

 Valenzuela commented on how she did being in the game for so long. 

“I think I did good, probably could’ve done better. They said I hit my spots but no, I’m always hard on myself, but it’s okay. There’s little things we need to work on, we let the moment get bigger than us sometimes. This loss should not be held down and we will get it back next time,” Valenzuela said.

Although the Vikings created several scoring chances, they ultimately came up short in the 6th inning, when the Falcons scored a run.

“Cerritos is one of our biggest competitors…. And I think we came into it knowing that, we knew they were gonna be our biggest competitors. We knew they were gonna put pressure on us. We knew we had a target on our backs. But I think the next time that we see them, it’s definitely going to be different,” Mineo commented. 

Even though the Vikings came up short, they will see Cerritos again March 17th. 

As the game came to a close, the Falcons ended the game with a 2-1 lead, leaving the Vikings record at 9-2.

“It’s hard losing on our home field, especially to a team that we beat twice last year. I think we had everything right. Everything that we did was great. The pitching was great. The hitting was great. We just need to find the fight. We all have it in us somewhere…we just need to figure out how to pull it out,” Mineo commented after the game. 

The Vikings’ current record is 10-4, with their next game being held on Friday, Feb. 27, at 1 p.m. against Canyons