Falcons rally late but lose 8-7

The teams met again on Saturday evening for a twilight battle under the lights, and for a special evening of Sophomore recognition.  The pre-game ceremony highlighted the Falcons' seven sophomores and one freshman who are graduating and transferring after the spring. 

The game started positively for the Falcons, when Emma Gaytan singled, stole second, and scored on a double by Maddy Larson, all with two outs.  It would be just the beginning of a big night for Larson, who finished 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI.  The Hawks responded with a tying run in the third, then took command with four runs in the fourth.  The Falcons answered with a walk and three hits, including Olivia Dominguez' RBI single, to close the gap to 5-2.  Three more runs by the Hawks in the fifth inning appeared to put the game out of reach at 8-2.  But this year's Falcon squad has been known to rally late and was not about to give up.  Down 8-3 in the seventh inning, the Falcons rallied yet again with four hits and two walks.  Maddy Larson drove in two runs with her single, and Sachi Reyes made it very interesting with her 2-run double that made the score 8-7.  With the potential tying and winning runs standing on third and second, the Falcons were poised for another walk-off.  But this time, Olivia Dominguez went down swinging as the Hawks celebrated their win.

The Falcons have two more weekend series to play; this coming Friday and Saturday at Sac City, then finishing at American River on Memorial Day weekend.