Staff Writer
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| Nicole Peters pitched on March 9/ Photo by Robert Villapudua |
“I threw a lot of rise balls against Barstow, and they just could not hit off of me,” Peters said about the Barstow game. “It is difficult to play against all these teams; I came up on the short end of some of my losses to Glendale, Cerritos and Fullerton. I rely on Michelle Cannon to help me out against some of the opponents,” Peters continued.
“It is exciting that we rely on our defense to win. Nicole has been doing well and had success in the last game against Barstow. The coaches tell her in the scouting reports what to look for to better understand her opponents,” catcher Michelle Cannon said.
“Coach and I talk to her if she gets mad or shook up, and I am excited for the Mt. San Antonio game,” Cannon continued.
“I have been working hard to practice getting better. Mandy is the captain in the outfield. Mt. San Antonio, they are all good hitters and tend to hit the ball hard,” left fielder Destinee King said.
“I try to be smart and selective; I try anything I can to get on base. I like to hit home runs but try to hit line drives and get on base. I definitely need to be on my toes,” King continued. “I am prepared to hit against any pitching.”
“We kind of work together on different things in the outfield; I ask Destinee if I make a mistake,” center fielder Mandy Dale said.
“As a center fielder, I have priority. Whoever gets closest to the ball should make the catch. The wind usually blows out, but there is no wind today. I am now hitting second in the lineup. The team was able to hit off of Mt. San Antonio last year, but I am not sure about this year’s pitchers,” Dale said.
Nicole Peters shut down Mt. San Antonio in the first inning while Breanne Farinas picked up a hit in bottom half and failed to score.
In the top of the second, Mt. San Antonio added two runs on a Diane Gutierrez home run to make the score 2-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, Mt. San Antonio padded their lead. Codi Arends, who is the leadoff hitter for Mt. San Antonio, hit a three-run home run to chase Nicole Peters out of the game. “She improved a lot against a hard-hitting team, so giving up five runs in three innings was not bad,” Coach Vargas said. Breanne Farinas relieved Nicole Peters and did not fare much better and gave up a run in the inning to make the score 6-0, Mt. San Antonio. Mandy Dale drove in the lone run for the Marauders in the bottom of the fourth inning.
In the top of the fifth inning, Farinas gave up a two-run home run to Mt. San Antonio’s Kelly Williams, which made the score 8-1.
Mt. San Antonio added two more runs in the top of the sixth inning, and AVC did not score in the bottom half. “The game would have ended in the fourth if we would not have scored in that inning because they were up 8-1. When they scored ten runs total after their top of the sixth inning and we failed to score in the bottom half, the game was over,” said Coach Vargas.
“We need to work on some things such as hitting and defense and definitely be prepared for our Wednesday game,” Vargas continued. “Brooke Farrell is still injured and is available to pinch hit in two to three weeks but that is about it. She will not be able to play third base or pitch until the doctor clears her to do so.”
AVC will play their next game at Mt. San Jacinto, which is a conference game in Menifee at 3 P.M. AVC’s next home games will be March 16 at 3 p.m. against Victor Valley and March 20 against Riverside at 3 p.m.
