Softball Offense Silenced by Mounties

TORRANCE, Calif. --- El Camino College suffered a 5-0 South Coast Conference loss to visiting Mount San Antonio on Friday afternoon at the ECC Softball Field.

The Warriors (17-14, 7-10) were shutout for just the third time this season as they managed just three hits against the Mounties (28-5, 17-1).

Both pitchers were stellar through three innings as both teams combined for just three hits in the first three innings.

In the fourth inning, Noemi Sandoval surrendered a one-out hit but then got a foul out for the second out and appeared to close out another solid inning in the circle for the Warriors. But an errant thrown on a grounder to short was too low for first baseman Skylar Sanchez to pick out of the dirt, keeping the inning alive for the Mounties with runners on the corners due to the error.

The Mounties would capitalize as Janis Espinoza singled to center field to score the first run of the game and put Mt. SAC up 1-0.

In the next inning, Sandoval gave up three straight one-out hits to allow the Mounties to score two more times and put the Warriors in a 3-0 deficit. The Mounties would go on to tack on single runs in the sixth and the seventh but it was more than enough for pitcher Mirannda Rodriquez, who faced just three batters over the minimum to secure the complete-game win.

The Warriors will return to action on Saturday afternoon as they host Citrus for a 1 p.m. first pitch.