After opening the season with 2 losses, the Vikings were off to a rough start in 2012. Tuesday’s double-header against Yuba and Hartnell proved to be another challenge, but that didn’t stop Diablo Valley from securing their first win in a dramatic fashion.
Jackie Rooney started the first game against Yuba for Diablo Valley and went two innings before being taken out, feeling soreness in her knee. Katie Crippen and Jennifer Shue would take over through the next four innings, holding Yuba to just three runs.
“We started out the season with a few little injuries,” said head coach Angie Goulartie. “Right now we’re finding out how tough we are and focusing more on gelling as a team. We have good team chemistry, and that’s starting to show in the way we play.”
Maybe it was that chemistry that motivated Rooney to return to the circle for top of the seventh inning. She battled through the pain and did her job, keeping the score close at 1-3 going into the bottom of the seventh.
It was there that the Vikings rallied. With two outs and the bases loaded, Kierra Fletcher took to the plate.
“It’s like what my grandpa told me, take it one pitch at a time and when you get one let it rip,” said Kierra Fletcher. “I have confidence in myself and I got my pitch.”
She certainly did get her pitch, and planted it beyond the left field wall for the game winning grand slam.
“It certainly was dramatic,” said coach Goulartie with a smile of relief.
The second game against Hartnell proved to be another nail biter, but with the Vikings losing in the end.
Starting pitcher Taylor Moore looked great in the first two innings, allowing only one run and no walks. She struggled in the top of the third, allowing three before Katie Crippen entered once again in relief.
The bottom of the third saw the Vikings rally for two runs, which turned out to be the cap on the scoring. Center fielder Alyssa Matoba lead off with a hit, and then stole second. Shortstop Briana Zielinski moved Matoba to third with a base hit to left field, allowing Matoba to score on a past ball from an errant throw to home plate. Zielinski would then score on a Jennifer Quigley sacrifice fly.
The score was close at 3-2, but the Vikings would give up two more runs in the top of the fourth. They would have a few more chances to score in the bottom fourth and fifth innings, but were not quite able to find the rally starter.
A Hartnell home run in the sixth would lock up the Vikings chances, with the game ending a 6-2 loss.
“I’m proud of the strides we made today,” said Coach Goulartie. “I really feel like the team is on the rise. We’re a new team with only a couple returning players, and we’re still working to see what pieces fit. As the season goes on, we’ll show just how good we are.”
