The Lady Vaqueros were listless after an 18-1 loss to College of the Canyons on Thursday at the Glendale Sports Complex.
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The College of the Canyons jumped to a 6-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Vaquero freshman pitcher Jennifer Meza was replaced at the start of the third inning with freshman Nicolby Atallah.
“I’ve never seen her give up seven hits in only two innings before,” said Glendale Coach Dave Wilder. “I don’t blame her for her performance though; she has recently come off a torn ACL. I would still pick her over any other pitcher in the league. She has a bright future.”
Atallah showed signs of promise after only allowing one run in the top of the third inning, bringing the deficit to seven. However, a combination of errors and a lack of hitting and determination would prevent Glendale from winning its third in a row.
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“We tried to keep our spirits up,” said Wilder. “We were able come back and beat L.A. Mission College after being down by eight runs. It just wasn’t meant to happen again.”
Glendale couldn’t respond to the seven-run deficit and didn’t even get a base hit in the third and fourth innings. In the top of the fifth inning, the Cougars put away the game. ?
Cougar freshmen Alexis Tellez and Caitlin Wipff started off the inning with singles. Then Noel Luongo followed with a fly ball to the outfield. A missed catch by a Vaquero outfielder allowed Tellez and Wipff to both score and brought the Cougar lead to nine runs.
The Cougars kept piling on with a balanced attack of doubles and singles while the Vaqueros responded with errors and bad throws. By the end of the fifth inning, the Cougars were up 18-0.
“I had a decent start in the top of the third inning but the errors sucked our will out of the game,” said Atallah. “We need to keep our heads up high and continue to move forward no matter how many runs we are down by.”
?Glendale wouldn’t be forced out of the game without a run. Vaquero freshman Ailleen Menendez hit a triple. Then freshman Rachael Allen followed with a grounder that allowed Menendez to score .
“This was a performance I won’t forget,” said Meza. “We need to play hard and go out with some dignity.” ?
Glendale split the final two games of the season in a double header on Saturday at the Glendale Sports Complex against San Diego Mesa. The Vaqueros won the first game 4-0 and then lost the second game with a score of 6-5.
Glendale finished the season with a record of 13 wins and 16 losses. Coach Wilder is still hopeful for next season.
“When 12 out of 14 players on the roster are freshmen, there are bound to be mistakes,” he said. “When they return next season, I expect their game to be elevated. When we play solid defense, we can beat anyone.”
