Carlson Launches Three Bombs, Hall Blanks Fullerton in Conference Opener

It could not have gone any better for the Riverside City College softball team on Wednesday evening in its Orange Empire Conference (OEC) opener against the Fullerton College Hornets at Evans Sports Complex. With an undeniable dominance of both power offense and pure pitching, the Tigers cruised to a 9-0 victory in six innings.

Sophomore starter Synphony Hall (Rialto, CA) entered into the circle for her fourth start of the season and pieced together her most heavy-duty performance yet. She did not allow a hit until the top of the sixth inning with one out when a ball barely found the chalk halfway down the left-field line. Prior to that, not one ball was truly squared up by the Hornets as she cruised through five frames with ease. She fanned a pair of batters as she utilized a flawless defense.

The Riverside offense allowed Hall to pitch fearlessly as they plated a total of nine runs on the day. Sophomore catcher Aeriel Carlson (Highland, CA) was the power threat as she continued to cart a hot stick. She began the day by launching a solo over the left-field wall in her first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning. She continued on in the bottom of the third inning by sending another ball out of the park to dead-center that cleared the fence by a solid 50 feet.

After popping out in her third at-bat, Carlson walked up to the dish in the bottom of the sixth and squared up a pitch that dropped over the left-field wall for a two-run homerun and her third round-tripper of the day.

Sophomore designated player A'loni Appleton (Rialto, CA) contributed to the second-inning four-spot with a RBI-single up the middle. She later came around to score on a RBI-double off the bat of sophomore shortstop Kailee Gilbert (Moreno Valley, CA). Freshman second baseman Breanna Ceballos (Ontario, CA) was responsible for the other two RBI with a base knock in the sixth inning leading to the win.

Carlson finished on a 3-for-4 note with four RBI, three runs scored, and three homeruns. Hall (4-1) went the distance for the shutout while allowing just one hit in the win.

The Tigers (6-2, 1-0 OEC) will continue action on Saturday, February 17^th as they face off against Mt. San Antonio at 2:30 p.m.