Freshman pitcher Rachel Turner held the Pioneers to three runs on two hits over five innings, while striking out five and freshman Elena Lomeli protected a five-run lead over the final two innings with just one hit allowed and two strikeouts.
“The young pitchers that we have, you can see they’ve got talent, but we’ve gotta develop it,” Ziomek said. “It’s gonna get better.”
Both Gaels hurlers had a hand in the five-run second inning that put Holy Family ahead, 5-1.
Hunter began the rally with a single, which was followed by a run-scoring double by freshman left fielder Ashlee Sandoval. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Lomeli, who started the game in center field, and she cleared them with a triple before crossing the plate herself on a passed ball.
Holy Family (1-0) added another run in the third inning, aided by two errors by Providence (0-1), and cashed in a fourth-inning throwing error by the Pioneers to go up, 7-1.
“The [scrimmage] we played we had a problem making contact, but at least [today] we were making contact,” Ziomek said. “If you’re out, you’re out, but just put the ball in play, no strikeouts.
“[The Pioneers] throw the ball away, an overthrow here, an overthrow there, and you’re in business.”
The only threat the Pioneers were able to mount came in the bottom of the fourth, when a one-out double led to a run scored on a sacrifice fly. Providence would tack on another run with an infield single, but catcher Adriana Quintero extinguished the threat by gunning out a runner trying to steal at second base.
In the sixth inning, Holy Family, which had seven hits from seven players, got one run back when Quintero singled Lomeli into scoring position at third base, where she then came home on a catcher’s throwing error.
Lomeli worked around a one-out single in the sixth with a popout and a strikeout and needed just 10 pitches to slam the door in the seventh.
