Seniors Bella Nuno and Riley Monroe hit home runs for Dos Pueblos, but defensive lapses caught up with the Chargers in a 8-5 season-opening loss to Lompoc Thursday.
Nuno led off the bottom of the first by launching a 3-1 pitch over the left-center fence to put the Chargers up 1-0.
Lompoc answered with three runs in the second, after the Braves’ leadoff hitter reache on an error. Later, an overthrow at first base led to two Lompoc runs.
Monroe hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the third to tie the score at 3-3. Lompoc regained the lead in the fifth with two runs on a walk and three singles. The Chargers then tied the score again in the bottom of the fifth when freshman Kacey Hurley drove in two runs by hitting an 0-2 fastball to left.
However, three straight errors in the seventh did in Dos Pueblos in the 8-5 loss.
“It is not the outcome we wanted, but I’m happy with the effort,” Dos Pueblos coach Mike Gerken said. “It’s great to see our seniors Bella and Riley come through so early in the season and we got great contributions from freshmen, Kacey Hurley and Anastasia Brunner, as well.
“We need to work on a lot defensively, but especially not allowing the lead-off runner to get on. We made it tough on our pitcher Georgia Wilson who only gave up two earned runs on the day. We’ve got a lot of senior leadership so I’m confident we’ll clean it up.”