The Hawks kicked off the month of March with a bang, winning their first two games of a four-team tournament.
Cosumnes River College hosted Gavilan College, Shasta College and Mendocino College for the two-day mini tournament.
While Shasta and Mendocino faced off on CRC’s old field, the Hawks took on Gavilan.
The Hawks scored seven runs, with two coming in the first inning and five coming in the third, and went on to win 7-3.
Momentum was with the Hawks from the first inning when sophomore pitcher Allison Barsetti hit a home run on a 3-1 count with two outs.
“First of all, the pitch was a fairly high pitch, so I had to make sure I got on top of it,” Barsetti said. “I just barely swung and it went over the fence. It felt great.”
The bottom of the third inning started with the leadoff batter, sophomore shortstop Alissa Greenhaw, being walked. Freshman second baseman Amy Pedretti laid down a sacrifice bunt to send Greenhaw to second, who then stole third base. Jessica Venturelli, freshman outfielder, hit a single through the middle to bring Greenhaw home.
Gavilan’s three runs came in the top of the fifth inning, when Rams’ freshman infielder Kayla Medrano batted in one of their runners for their first score of the game with a triple into left field.
The next two runs came right after, with freshman utility player Samantha Ribeiro hitting the ball deep into center field, bringing in Medrano and herself for runs.
After the first game, Hawks’ head coach Kristy Schroeder said that the team played well in the infield, but “struggled on a couple balls in the outfield.”
“I’m just excited to keep playing,” Schroeder said. “Hopefully we’ll continue to be strong and when we do falter, come back. That’s the key, coming back immediately after you make a mistake and I think we’re doing that okay.”
The day would belong to the Hawks, who won their next game against Shasta College with a score of 5-2.
A costly move for the Shasta College Knights came in the bottom of the fifth inning when freshman pitcher Kayla Spini intentionally walked Barsetti, who earlier in the game hit a double to center field that brought home Pedretti for a run. This loaded the bases with two outs when Magana stepped up to bat and hit a single into left field that brought home freshman pinch runner Laura Villano and Greenhaw.
“They underestimated me,” Magana said. “Obviously they walked Alli knowing she was doing great that game, she had a few big hits. … You’re either a hero, or you’re just going to get scared and intimidated and fail. You want to do your best and just keep calm during the situation.
“I didn’t really think, to be honest I just went up there like any other at bat and made them regret ever walking Alli and leaving the bases loaded for me because I wanted to step up to the plate and make that happen,” Magana said.
Tomorrow the Hawks start the day playing Mendocino College.
“Before [today] we were just coming out to play and if we won, well so be it,” Schroeder said. “But I think we’re coming to play and to win and so that was a big difference. So hopefully tomorrow we’ll come out and be fired up again and ready to take it to the teams we play.”