Erica Baxter, the Rams' starting pitcher, winds up in the circle for Gavilan against Hartnell Tuesday.

GILROY—Gavilan’s head coach Nikki Dequin struggled to find words following Tuesday’s game against the Panthers.
The Rams were nipping on Hartnell’s heels for most of the game before the Panthers broke it open with five runs in the fifth inning. From there, Hartnell cruised to a 10-1 win in six innings at Gavilan.
Gavilan struggled at the plate all game. It only mustered up four hits compared to Hartnell’s 15. Gavilan’s Samantha Parraz said the Panthers’ pitcher, Danielle Blaylock, threw at a much slower pace than they were used to and it caught the Rams off guard.
“We really made their pitcher look really good,” head coach Dequin said. “It really doesn’t matter what they do. If we can’t hit the ball, if can’t score runs, it’s not going to turn out in our favor.”
The Panthers led 3-1 heading into the top of the fifth, but had gone hitless the inning before. Hartnell adjusted to Gavilan pitcher Erika Baxter and used three hits, a walk and an error to increase their lead by four. Rams’ pitcher Parraz came in for relief and despite giving up a single and a run, she was able to limit the damage. The Panthers, on the other hand, surged to a dominant 8-1 lead.
Gavilan’s lone score came in the bottom of the fourth off a solo home run from Mari Rodriguez. She led the team with a 2 for 3 performance at the plate. Parraz and Ruby Sa’avedra had the only other hits—one a piece—for the Rams.
“We were fighting, we were really fighting,” Parraz said. “All of our mindsets are to give 110 percent all the time and that’s what we do. We constantly live by that.”
Gavilan made several stellar plays on defense to keep itself in the game.
With Hartnell runners on second and third in the top of the third, Alexis Nava hit a hard line drive to third base. But Parraz didn’t even flinch as she made the catch for the out. She then easily grabbed a ground ball on the next play to end the inning.
Crissy Simpson made a beautiful catch on the move in the top of the fourth to prevent a basehit and Victoria Lobato made a similar play in right field in the next inning for the Rams.
“Our defense is usually pretty solid, so I think we need to work on our bats and have fun,” Parraz said. “If we have fun at the plate, we usually hit really well.”
After winning the Coast Conference Pacific title in 2014, Gavilan (7-23 overall, 2-10 in conference) will miss the playoffs this year. It still has four games left in the season, including the season finale at conference-leader West Valley at 3 p.m. on April 21.
“We just have to relax—that’s just the point we’re at this season,” Dequin said. “We’ve got a few strong teams coming up and maybe we can make it tough for somebody and knock them out of a spot just for the fun of it.”

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