The Lady Vaqueros softball team turned their luck around on March 23 with an eleventh hour victory at Glendale Sports Complex against the LA Valley Monarchs.

The Lady Vaqs have had a tough season dealing with the tragic loss of fellow teammate Elena Kramer, 19, who died in a car accident on January 4. Kramer was on her way to practice on the first day of winter session when the unfortunate incident took place.

It seemed grim for Glendale when the Monarchs scored in the second inning, and again in the fourth, but that did not phase the Lady Vaqs they pulled themselves together and scored all three runs in the bottom of the seventh-inning.

“We needed this win,” said Head Coach Sal Pizzo. The Vaqueros have been on a losing streak with a record of 1-5 in conference and 4-13-1 overall.

Outfielder Camille Ochoa has the best batting average on the team. She wasn’t aware of it, but once she found out, it gave her a confidence boost.
“I had no idea, my goal was to at least be top three and I’m happy to hear that I’m at the top,” Ochoa said after scoring the game winning run. “This was a fresh breath and I hope that this translates to the next game. The girls really needed this win.”

“She’s so calm and collected in every pressure situation,” Pizzo said. “She’s always the first to take the strike.”

First basemen Samantha Madrano played a huge factor in the seventh-inning, setting up the game-winning run for Ochoa and another teammate to score at the very last second, putting the team ahead by one point with a final score of 3-2.

”I got chills … finally got a win,” Madrano said.
The Lady Vaqs will go into the next game more confident and with clear minds against Santa Monica college Thursday at the Glendale Sports Complex at 2:30 p.m.