Four straight walks.
Not the way East Union wanted to start off against a hard-hitting Ripon club Saturday at Northgate only
freshman catcher Alejandra Rascon stuck a bandage on the early wound, and Savina Brandi stopped the bleeding in long relief as EU prevailed 7-1 to avenge its 2012 loss to the Indians.
Rascon threw out a base stealer after the leadoff runner reached. Later, with the bases loaded, Brandi relieved freshman starter Michelle Castro and escaped the threat by forcing a popup and a strikeout.
Brandi went on to scatter three hits and strike out four over the final 6 2/3 innings.
“Savina pitched her tail off,” East Union coach Brian Goulart said. “She pitched against a lot of her own travel-ball teammates and shut them down, and our defense played well behind her.”
Her batterymate didn’t only come up huge behind the plate. Rascon was the only player in the game to swat multiple hits, both home runs including a three-run shot in the third inning. East Union (7-1) led 5-0 going into the fourth. Every Lancer who batted ended up with a hit.
Morgan Ormande drove in the lone run for Ripon (7-3), and Loyola Marymount-bound Nicole Kaiser contributed a double.
The Indians return to Trans-Valley League action Tuesday at Escalon, while East Union begins Valley Oak League play at Kimball on Wednesday.