March 9, 2024

Warriors Open Series with Two Wins, Stay Undefeated in Cal Pac

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By Francisco Claudio

 
The Westcliff softball team overcame the University of Saint Katherine Firebirds 1-0 and 2-0 in the first doubleheader of the series.
 
With the wins, the Warriors improved to (12-10, Cal Pac 6-0) which is the best start to their conference schedule in program history.
 
The Warriors are accompanied by last year's champs Embry-Riddle as the only teams left without dropping a conference game.
 
Both games were low in scored runs but that made them even more intense because any little mistake could have given the opponent a chance to take over.
 
Luckily for the Warriors, Emily Rosas steered the ship from the mound and made another case for why she should be Cal Pac Pitcher of the Week once again.
 
Rosas has won back-to-back pitchers of the week in the last two iterations.
 
She pitched the entirety of both games and continues to perform at the highest level, striking out batters left and right.
 
"Emily throws a little of everything but with her pitches having movement along with her velocity it's hard for hitters to catch up to it," described Head Coach Brandon Wallace.
 
In Game 1, she had eight strikeouts, with only three hits, and no runs scored.
 
Westcliff scored their lone winning run in the bottom of the fourth after Siana San Vicente flied out to center field which brought in the runner at third home.
 
In Game 2, Rosas was even better.
 
She threw all seven innings and struck out 12 batters while only allowing two hits.
 
The Warriors scored in the bottom of the third after Airilin Ramirez singled to right center bringing home Jessalyn Villicana.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Ramirez doubled to left field and earned another RBI as Abigail Rainwater scored the second run for Westcliff.
 
Ramirez finished 2-for-3 and was crucial in both scored runs.
 
"Our game plan today was to stay composed and play for each other," Wallace said after the wins. "We definitely executed our game plan.
 
"The team is believing in each other and overall we are having fun and just enjoying playing ball with a purpose."
 
Up next, the Warriors will have to quickly recover and get back on the field as they will finish off the series against USK on Saturday with another doubleheader.
 
"We need to come out with the same calm, cool, and collective mindset as we did in today's DH," Wallace said.