Foothill limits hiccups, rolls past Tech

Foothill softball coach Tom Mayes has watched his team in recent games be haunted by what he calls the “E Monster.”

“E,” as in errors and excuses.

On Thursday, the Falcons might have exorcised the monster.

Except for a small hiccup in the fourth inning, the Falcons played well defensively, got a solid pitching performance from Alex Petrolia and constantly put the ball in play en route to a 5-1 win over visiting Tech.

“We were a little more mentally in the game,” Mayes said. “They did a pretty good job. Everybody’s head was in the game, and they were seeing the field. It’s a step toward where we want to go.”

Foothill (9-7, 2-2 Southeast) had lost four of its previous five games, allowing 38 runs in that span.

But Petrolia kept the Roadrunners (11-5, 1-3) off-balance most of the day, allowing only two hits and an unearned run. She struck out eight and walked two. Tech hit only two balls out of the infield.

“She was throwing pretty good,” Mayes said. “She was mixing it up pretty well.”

The Falcons committed only two errors — a dropped foul pop-up and a mishandled sacrifice bunt — both in the top of the fourth, when Tech also collected its only two hits and its lone run.

And Foothill got all the runs it needed in the first inning, albeit without much offense. A pair of Tech errors and two fielder’s choices allowed one run to score, and Rhiana Balaun’s sacrifice fly plated another run for a 2-0 lead.

The Falcons consistently put the ball in play, striking out only once against Tech flamethrower Amanda Roark.

“We’ve been getting behind (in counts) and forcing ourselves to push for something we don’t want to,” Mayes said. “We wanted to jump on the first good pitch. If you put it in play, you have a chance.”

Foothill tacked on a run in the third inning on consecutive two-out doubles by Balaun and Hanna Russo and scored twice more in the sixth on an RBI single by Lauren Penksa and a misplayed rundown by the Roadrunners.

Pamela Sakuma was 3-for-3 for Foothill, which had 10 hits. Penksa was 2-for-3.