The Cosumnes River College (CRC) Hawks won two nail-biters on Saturday at home over the San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs to open up conference play. CRC was able to extend their win streak to seven games, and they improved their overall record to 11-5. Alexandria Hale (Elk Grove, CA / Elk Grove HS) was the hero for the Hawks as her walk-off single secured the team's second victory of the day.
"Becky pitched well all game, she kept them off balance the whole time. The team played well, Alexandria had great hits when it mattered in both games. We made some nice plays in the field both games," said Head Coach Schroeder. "Going into the second game I knew it was only a matter of time before we would start hitting their pitching. Danielle had a huge homer for us and Mckinzie had a clutch hit as well. It's big for us to start out 2-0 in conference especially against a tough opponent like Delta."
The first game of the doubleheader was a pitcher's duel between Becky Pedersen (Ukiah, CA / Ukiah HS) and Jenna Nauta of Delta. Hale led the offense in game one as she was 1-2 with two RBI on a clutch hit in the fourth inning. Pedersen was dominant all game for the Hawks as she ended up going the distance for a complete game victory, her fifth of the season, moving her record to 5-3.
The second game of the doubleheader had a very similar story until the seventh inning. The seventh inning did not go as planned for the Hawks as Delta got their offense going and scored six runs to take an 8-3 lead. However, the Hawks were able to spark a rally in the bottom half of the seventh as they loaded the bases for one of their hottest hitters, Mckinzie Spriggs (Galt, CA / Galt HS). She delivered with a two-run double, cutting the lead to 8-5. A couple batters later, Danielle Pfennig (Lodi, CA / Lodi HS) delivered with a three-run home run to tie the game at eight apiece. CRC continued to rally and Hale delivered once again with an RBI single to cap off the comeback as the Hawks won it, 9-8.
With these two victories, the Hawks start out 2-0 in conference play, and they will look to continue their run of dominance next week in three conference games.