LATHROP — Early on, Weston Ranch High trailed the host Spartans, 12-1, in Friday's non-league game.
The Cougars made a slight adjustment on defense and then took advantage of miscues and walks issued by Lathrop in turning that once huge deficit into a 21-13 come-from-behind victory.
"Our girls showed a lot of character," said Weston Ranch coach Ron Wayman. "A lot of teams would have crumbled in that situation."
The adjustments by the Cougars (2-2) consisted of tweaking the outfield to take away right field from the Spartans, who went opposite field often enough under cold and breezy conditions to forge an early lead.
Wayman credited Sheree White for settling down the outfield.
Lathrop (0-3) scored three in the first inning and tacked on nine more in the second.
Isabella Campos-Rankin twice led off with triples in the rallies. Cienna Duenez and Joselyn Hurtado on both occasions followed up with an RBI single and a run-scoring double, respectively.
Isabel Terra and Emma Grisham also delivered on RBI doubles while Campos-Rankin belted her third triple of the game, delivering two more runs in the process.
Down 12-1, Weston Ranch began chipping away at the lead in third, scoring five runs on one hit — Evelyn Vance's two-run single — to go with six walks and hit batsman.
"Our problem has been pitching," said Spartans coach Cliff Borden, who saw his team's lead suddenly cut in half. "We're just not there yet."
The Cougars inched closer in the fourth by scoring twice. Aliyah Guerrero had an RBI single.
In the fifth, Weston Ranch tied the game up at 12-12 on Cheyenne Lewis' sacrifice fly, plating Julianna Lassiter, who had an RBI single in the four-run rally.
Pitcher Stephanie Barba also settled in after a rocky start. She allowed two hits, issued one walk, retiring six straight batters at one point while preventing Lathrop from scoring prior to the seventh.
In the top of the final frame, the Cougars erupted for nine runs on five walks, two hit batters, a pair of errors and a wild pitch. Lassiter added the finishing with an RBI double.
The Spartans scored a run in their half of the seventh, providing the final outcome.