Softball: Early innings hurt Rio Hondo in loss to El Camino

Rio Hondo College starting pitcher Madeline Peralta got off to a rocky start on Thursday. Facing El Camino College, the Warriors put up two runs in the top of the first, two runs in the second, and four more in the third to hand the Roadrunners a 9-5 South Coast Conference loss in Whittier.

Trailing 8-1, Rio Hondo cut the El Camino lead in half by rallying for three runs in the bottom of the third. Aspen Gonzalez hit a RBI single to score Arianna Amezcua while an El Camino error allowed two more runs to come in.

The Warriors (8-3, 6-1 SCC) added a final run in the fifth before Rio Hondo closed out the scoring with a run in the seventh.

Azucena Enriquez and Katherine Arroyo both went 2 for 4 at the plate with 2 RBI to lead Rio Hondo at the plate.

Peralta recovered from the early innings to strike out nine in the complete-game effort. She allowed seven earned runs and 12 hits.

The loss dropped Rio Hondo to 2-13-1 overall and 0-8 in conference play. The Roadrunners will look to snap a nine-game losing streak on Tuesday (Mar. 5) when they travel to East Los Angeles College for a 5 p.m. SCC game.