On Wednesday, sophomore third baseman Jaimie Harris became just the third player in Pasadena City College softball history to hit 10 home runs in a season. Harris' 2-run, first-inning bomb tied the mark as the Lancers stretched their South Coast Conference win streak to five games with a 7-2 win over visiting LA Harbor.
PCC upped its sparkling overall record to 21-10 and SCC mark to 14-4, now third place in the conference. The unranked Lancers have won seven of their last eight conference games, all over a 9-day span.
Harris tied the 2015 record set by both catcher Holly Riker-Sloan and second baseman Justine Zavala. Her 15 career home runs already is a PCC all-time record after Riker-Sloan held that mark previously with 11 (2015-2016).
PCC head coach Monica Tantlinger also reached a few milestones, including directing her sixth 20-win season over her eight complete seasons in charge of the program, beginning in 2014. She reached the 175-win mark in a doubleheader sweep at Rio Hondo on Tuesday.
Against Harbor, Harris batted 3-for-4 and her bomb over the LF fence allowed her to keep her high in the state statistics power categories. She is fourth in homers, fourth in RBI (41), fifth in total extra-base hits (23), 10th in doubles (12), and 10th in slugging percentage (.837). She leads the SCC in a number of those categories and raised her batting average to a team-leading .413.
"Jaimie is a special talent as she generates a powerful swing," Tantlinger said. "The ball explodes off her bat. She has had many hard outs and this year and became a more consistent power hitter. It is truly a pleasure to coach her these past few seasons and watch her turn into one of the state's best. So proud of her reaching our program's power records."
Another player who has excelled this season for PCC is letterman first baseman Marcella Ordonez, who slugged her first home run of the year, a 3-run blast in the Harbor win. Ordonez raised her average to .411 as she is fifth in the state in triples (five) and 15th in on-base percentage at .542 (third in the conference).
On a 10-game hitting streak, the left-handed hitting Ordonez is having a monster April thus far. In her last 40 plate appearances, the Lancers' lead-off batter has reached base safely an astonishing 27 times, hitting .536 with four triples, three doubles, a HR, eight walks, four hit-by-pitches, an on-base percentage of .675 and a slugging percentage of 1.036. Her 14 stolen bases and 16 walks this season lead the squad.
"Marceyy has raised her game at a key time for us as we go into the conference's final weeks," Tantlinger said. "With Jaimie, they give us a 1-2 punch at the top of the order, and I can't count how many times she has scored our first run in a game to kick-start our offense. She not only lines the ball on a consistent basis, but she doesn't swing at bad pitches. She is patient at the plate, always looking for her pitch to hit."
In the Harbor win, sophomore Elena Bahnimtewa twirled a complete-game, 5-hitter, with only one walk while striking out five. She raised her circle record to 6-1, lowered her ERA to 3.48, and has performed well as the team's #3 hurler in the rotation. Others who shined v. the Seahawks were leftfielder Olivia Nanez, who was 3-for-4, centerfielder Breanna Rodriguez (2-for-3, a double), and second baseman Gigi Leya, who was 1-for-3 and stole two bases.
At Rio Hondo, PCC avenged a loss to the Roadrunners on April 3, to win the season series, 2-games-to-1.
The Lancers won the opener of their twinbill, 7-2, as Ordonez put on a show. She hit 3-for-4 with two triples and a double. Tied 1-1 in the sixth, the Lancers broke it open with six runs, including a 2-RBI double by rightfielder-designated player Giselle Lopez. Rodriguez also knocked in two runs. Harris was 2-for-3 and stole a pair of bases. Austyn Helmuth scattered nine hits in the complete game, allowing only one walk, and picked up her fourth victory.
In game 2, the Lancers mercied Rio Hondo, 8-0, in five innings. Harris hit RBI doubles in each of the first two innings as PCC scored three in the first and five more in the second. Leyva added a 2-RBI double while shortstop Danielle Ruiz batted 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Harris went 2-for-3 while Ordonez was 1-for-2 with two runs, two walks, and two stolen bases.
Kiley Kraft, ninth in the state in ERA with a 1.34 mark, pitched her team-leading 10th win, but her first via a shutout. The sophomore allowed just three hits.
Pasadena hosts state #20-ranked Cerritos today (April 13) in a SCC game at Robinson Park. First pitch is 2:30 p.m. The Lancers already won the season series over the Falcons, defeating them 3-2 on Mar. 2 and 7-1 on Mar. 27.
