By Justin HAGER

Falcon baseball and softball got off to a rough start on Tuesday when the scheduled 3:30 p.m. boys’ varsity baseball game was postponed due to an umpire scheduling conflict. But it was all uphill from there.

The afternoon saw the perennial powerhouse Lady Falcons’ softball team kickoff its Pacific League campaign in Glendale where it was hosted by the Nitros. The Nitros entered the game a winless 0-4, but there was reason for hope as the 3-6 Falcons have struggled lately, dropping four of its last five games. Moreover, one of CVHS rising stars, freshman Mila Ready, was injured and unavailable to play. Almost immediately, though, senior Izzy Jamgotchian dashed the Nitros’ hopes by launching a ball over the left field wall. By the end of the first inning, CVHS led 7-0. The team would add five more in the second and three more in the third.

All the while, the Falcons’ starting pitcher, sophomore Jaiden Sabelis, was on fire, throwing a perfect no-hitter complete game after the contest was called after four innings due to the mercy rule.

When asked about the Falcons’ impressive performance, new head coach Joel Curtis said that he was “excited to see our team’s bats come alive, especially among the two starting seniors whom I expect to help carry the team.”

“We have a lot of young girls [who] are blossoming into tremendous athletes,” he said. “It’s fun watching them really coming together as a team.”

An hour later and a couple of miles up the road, the boys’ junior varsity baseball team was preparing to kick off its Pacific League campaign at historic Stengel Field. The Falcons hosted the hard-hitting Pasadena Bulldogs, whose 4-3 record prior to League play failed to capture its three-run total differential on the season and more than five runs scored per game.

While it is uncertain whether the boys knew of the girls softball score, they certainly looked as though they didn’t want to be outdone and decided to put on a show of their own in the first inning. They scored four and batted all the way around the lineup to open the contest. The second inning saw a rare feat in baseball as the Falcons scored a run in an inning without an RBI after their leadoff batter hit a line-drive triple and scored on a wild pitch a couple of pitches later. And in the third inning the Falcons drove the Talon in the Bulldogs’ coffin, batting all the way through the lineup yet again to score six runs. They would add two more in the fourth securing a 13-1 victory over Pasadena.

The girls’ softball team will have its own opportunity to take on the Pasadena Bulldogs today, March 3, at 3:30 p.m. at CVHS.