Vike pitcher Natalie Alvarez stroked
this pitch for a three-run homer to the dirt
in left-centerfield at LJHS in the first inning.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
By Ed Piper
La Jolla flexed its muscles again, amassing 19 runs from a potent offense that continues to put up numbers early in the season, despite losing to Montgomery at home in a tournament game Mon., Feb. 3.
Sophomore Natalie Alvarez, also taking her place in the pitching circle for the Vikings, clubbed a three-run homer over the short wall in left-centerfield with two outs in the first inning, landing on the grass and palm fronds there.
She drove in JC Taylor, who got aboard via a base-on-balls, and Aviv Laska, who pounded a ground-rule double that bounced over the temporary fence in right-centerfield. Both Taylor, the first baseman, and Laska, the catcher, have power as well.
Alvarez's high flyball tied the score in the bottom of the first, 4-4. The increased offensive production by La Jolla continues to be a welcome sign in the early going, after the Vikes struggled to score runs the last several years.
They have matured and gotten better. Against Aztec hurler Brianna Herrera, a freshman, the red-and-black amassed 21 hits to produce the 19-run total. including two home runs and four walks. She hit two batters. In 43 plate appearances, the Vikings forced the righthander to use 123 pitches.
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