The Roadrunner softball team ended its fall season on Nov. 9, with two home wins over the Alvin Community College Dolphins and Cisco Community College Wranglers. The ‘Runners played the Dolphins and beat them 12-0. Later in the day, the ‘Runners also played the Wranglers, beating them in a hard-fought game 11-7. The ‘Runners showed their versatility between the two games, with the first game showing the ‘Runners ability to score and the second their ability to keep their heads up after early struggles.
The game against the Dolphins started off strong with back-to-back home runs by seniors Celeste Loughman and Madison Washington, as well as a stolen base by sophomore Riley Grunberg after a ball was hit far left, which led to an early 3-0 lead for the ‘Runners.
In the third inning, the first run was scored by senior Elexus Trenkle after she was batted in by freshman Taylor Medina. Junior Hannah Boring followed suit, allowing Medina to score another run. Later in the inning, Loughman cracked a ball out right that was dropped by the Dolphins’ outfielder, allowing seniors Paige Pacher and Kylea Nix to run in and extend the lead. A few plays later, Grunberg got her second run after she hit a home run and allowed Loughman and Washington to get their second runs, making the lead 10-0.
At the start of the fifth inning, junior Clarissa Hernandez came out of the bullpen, taking over for Nelson. Hernandez came out strong and got five strikeouts in three innings. When the ‘Runners got to the batting plate in the fifth, sophomore Kindell Brooks hit a home run, scoring her first run and Loughman a third. In the next two innings, there were no point shifts, and the game ended 12-0.
In the second game, the ‘Runners played against the Wranglers, and it was less clean cut with six lead changes. The first inning saw starting sophomore pitcher Marena Estell and the ‘Runners’ defense fall into a deficit, leading to the Wranglers getting two runs. The ‘Runners retaliated with Grunberg hitting a home run to bring the score 2-1 Wranglers.
The fourth inning was a big one for the ‘Runners with red-shirt junior Makenzie Carpenter taking over for Estell as pitcher. The ‘Runners took the lead again after Grunberg scored by stealing a base. Villarreal followed by hitting a home run, batting in Estell, which increased the score 5-6. During the fifth inning, the Wranglers tied the game up after hitting a home run.
During the sixth, the Wranglers scored after one of the ‘Runner infielders allowed the ball to slide through her legs. At the bottom of the sixth, the ‘Runners blew the game up with Washington getting a home run and allowing her and Villarreal to get two runs. Pacher stole a run after the Wranglers miscommunicated in the infield. Freshman Ciarra Mata was the next person to score a run after the catcher dropped the ball. The next score would come once the bases were loaded, and Villarreal would take a hit to the head, resulting in Boring getting her second run of the day. This inning finished the game with as no runs were scored in the seventh, ending the game 11-7.
