By Alan der OHANNESSIAN

The Falcons varsity softball team kept its composure to win 5-2 Tuesday at Burroughs. Having lost their lead earlier, the Falcons kept their focus to win the game.
The win moved the Falcons (17-3, 9-1) into a first-place tie in the Pacific League with Burroughs as of Wednesday. The Falcons played Glendale High School Wednesday afternoon.
The Falcons broke the deadlock in the third inning for an early lead. Senior captain Kelly Bako singled, and fellow senior captain Erin Ashby (who went four for four) rewarded her effort with a home run to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead.
Undeterred, the Indians fought back to even the score.
Shannon Trujillo (who went three for three) hit a double, followed by a single from teammate Taylor Buliavac to move Trujillo to third base. The Falcons threw the ball to third base to tag out Trujillo before she could reach it. But it was an errant throw, giving her the opportunity to run all the way home to score for Burroughs.
On the next pitch, teammate Buliavac had an RBI triple as she ran to home plate after a fly ball by Haley Schulman.
In the fourth inning, the Falcons came close to scoring but failed.
Senior Delaney Gay and Bako had base hits respectively, leading Delaney to get to second base. Ashby’s base hit pushed her to third, putting her in a scoring position.  Allison Lacey struck out so Delaney couldn’t score. Neither could the other Falcons, wasting a scoring opportunity to regain the lead.
Patience is indeed a virtue, as they had to wait until the sixth inning to get rewarded for their efforts.
Bako doubled, and was later subbed by teammate Whitney Craig. Ashby’s base hit led to RBI double as Falcons regained the lead 3-2.
Furthermore, freshman Hannah Cookson, who had been struggling earlier in the game, put the nail in the coffin by hitting a two-run homer to seal the victory for the Falcons.
After the game, teammates surrounded Cookson to congratulate her for her heroics.
Falcons’ Coach Dan Berry said, “It’s a well-played game.” He continued, “They took advantage of the miscues but we were still able to keep our focus, [we] played hard. It’s the little things that win the game for you.”
For example, he pointed out that “Erin had a pitch close to the plate,” so she had a green light to hit the ball. Given that she’s an All-State player left little doubt she would achieve her goals.
The Falcons had 14 hits, while the Indians had 13. The Indians had more strikeouts by a margin of one, 6-5 but made three steals while the Falcons had none.
The Falcons next play Friday at Pasadena at 3:30 p.m.

  Falcons, May 05, Sports