Falcons' comeback falls short against Merced

Playing in frigid conditions better suited for ice hockey, the Falcons hosted Merced College for a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon and lost twice, 16-2 and 7-5.  In the opener, the Falcons held an early lead, fell behind in the middle innings, started to close the gap, then gave the game away in the sixth inning when the defensive wheels fell off with four errors, leading to 11 mostly unearned runs.  It was a disappointing conclusion to what had been a competitive game. 

In the second game, the Falcons again scored early for a 1-0 lead when Araya Corral doubled home Jessi Lawhorn in the first inning.  After the Blue devils tied it up in the second, the Falcons responded with two more runs in the bottom of the second on catcher Savannah Avellaneda's rbi single and Lawhorn's sacrifice fly to right.  In the 4^th inning, the Blue Devils put together four hits to manufacture four runs and take a 5-3 lead, then added to that with a home run in the 5^th and an unearned run in the 7^th.  Down 7-3 with three outs to play, the Falcons staged a rally that nearly won the game, scoring two runs on Gigi Mendez' double to make it 7-5.  After Bib Burnett walked, the Falcons had two runners on and the winning run at the plate with just one out.  Kylee Boykin then hit a fly ball to medium right-center that was caught for out #2, and the throw from the outfield nailed Mikey Edwards-Gonzalez – who had tagged up at third - at the plate for out #3.