TOUGH HOME-LOSS TO ORANGE COAST

The Hornets battled throughout at home on Thursday afternoon but came up short falling 6-4 to Orange Coast College in game two of a three-game Orange Empire Conference series.

Fullerton opened OEC play earlier this week with a 6-2 loss at Orange Coast.

The Pirates struck first in the opening inning when Kimora Tuipala lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home Kelsey McNair, giving Orange Coast an early 1-0 lead.

Orange Coast added another run in the second inning after Jaden Fraser reached on a throwing error by the Hornets' first baseman, allowing Victoria Ruiz to score and extend the lead to 2-0.

Fullerton quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning. Dakoda Hilvers was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded forcing in Camryn Zodrow to put the Hornets on the board. Moments later, Juliana Ursino delivered an RBI single to second base that scored Sanai Smith tying the game at 2-2.

The Hornets took their first lead in the fourth inning when Madison Beohm lined a single to right center allowing Zoey Bautista to score pushing FC ahead 3-2.

Orange Coast responded in the fifth when Kayla Vargas drove in Afton Janke with a sacrifice fly to even the score at 3-3.

The Pirates broke the game open in the seventh inning capitalizing on a series of defensive miscues. Marissa Sardinas singled to left to plate Madison Gregory for a 4-3 lead. Later in the inning, Juliana Brower added another run-scoring single before Victoria Ruiz reached on a Fullerton error that allowed another run to cross stretching the advantage to 6-3.

Fullerton attempted a late rally in the bottom of the seventh when Toafa Pua grounded out to first but drove in Juliana Ursino cutting the deficit to 6-4. However, the Hornets were unable to bring in the tying.

At the plate, Ursino led the Hornets with 2 hits and a RBI, while Beohm, Alexandria Valdez, Anela Quinones, and Dakoda Hilvers each recorded a hit.

In the circle, Sam Vizcarra took the loss after throwing 6.2 innings allowing six runs (2 earned) on 12 hits while striking out one. Grace Workman recorded the final out in relief.

Up Next: The Hornets (8-4 overall, 0-2 OEC) will look to salvage the series when they travel back to Orange Coast to face the Pirates in the series finale on Friday, March 6th at 2:00 pm.