SMC softball breaks losing streak against LA Valley Monarchs
As the ball rolled away from the LA Valley College Monarch first baseman and headed towards the LA Valley dugout, Santa Monica College Corsairs' freshman pitcher Adriana Hernandez rounded third base and took off towards home to end her team's string of losses.
The Corsairs ended their 16 game losing streak against the Monarchs on a walk off error 11-10 on Thursday.
The Corsairs were able to fight back from three separate deficits to come back and win the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sumayah Muhammad drove in two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
"They could have quit, but they never did and they battled the whole way. We've been so close so many times, but they finally learned how to fight back," SMC head coach Daniel Soto said.
Entering the seventh and final inning of the game, SMC led LA Valley 9-8. After SMC pitcher Adriana Hernandez retired the first two batters of the inning, with only one out remaining for LA Valley, the Monarchs sparked a rally and found a way to pull ahead with two runs of their own to take a one run lead going into the bottom of the seventh.
With a win within reach of the Corsairs, a feeling they haven't had in awhile, Soto gathered up the girls and told them to go out there and get the job done.
In the bottom of the seventh with two outs and trailing one run, Muhammad found a way to get the ball in play and beat out a throw and first. The ball went astray which gave the chance for Hernandez to round third and score the game winning, walk-off run.
Both teams came out strong with 1-2-3 innings early on in the game and keep score 0-0 all the way into the top of the third.
LA Valley drove in three run in the top of the third inning to take a lead that would eventually seesaw back and forth.
The Monarchs added one more run to their tally in the top of the fifth inning to push LA Valley ahead 4-0, while the Corsairs still failed to score a run.
However, in the bottom of the fifth, the Corsairs brought their bats to life and started a huge rally. The Corsairs smashed in six runs in the inning to take a 6-4 lead over the Monarchs, but that lead wouldn't last very long.
The LA Valley Monarchs fought back in the top of the sixth to retake the lead back from the SMC Corsairs by driving in four runs. They shot out in front of the Corsairs 8-6, yet SMC wasn't going down without a fight.
SMC roared back to retake the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning by adding three runs to their total.
It was fitting that Hernandez finished the game, as she led the Corsairs on the day, throwing a complete game and hitting .500 on the day.
The SMC softball team is due to battle against Bakersfield Community College in a double header on Tuesday, April 7th at John Adams Middle School.