Righetti senior pitcher Emily Fortin has been dominant.
Her 2.03 ERA and 188 strikeouts last season can attest to that.
But now she wants to make the most of her senior season.
“I just want to stay healthy, work on my changeup and have fun,” she said.
Fortin has not only been an integral part of the Warriors program over the last three seasons, but also to the 12-2 victory over Templeton on Wednesday.
She pitched four innings, with her only mistake being a 2-run home run in the first inning to Jessie Branch, a former club teammate of Fortin’s.
“I knew she was a good hitter,” Fortin said. “I knew she liked those rise balls inside. I shouldn’t have given her that pitch.”
Fortin got out of the inning, and it didn’t take long for the offense to have her back.
After Fortin laced a single to left field to score Lily Bassett in her first at-bat to cut the deficit in half, Righetti exploded with five runs in the second inning.
Senior Ember Hendricks hit an RBI single, followed by a bases-clearing double into the centerfield gap by Kloey Acuna. Fortin even got her second RBI single when she punched a fastball through the infield.
“Once we got a few hits, everyone’s confidence went up,” Warriors coach Brian Tomooka said. “We hit the ball really well today.”
While Fortin was working with a commanding lead, she was struggling with her command.
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After allowing just under three walks per game last season, the former all-league first team pitcher had walked no more than seven batters in a single game. That was when she was a freshman.
She finished Wednesday walking eight batters in just four innings of work.
“I’m a strikeout pitcher, so I was trying to get them to chase pitches out of the zone,” Fortin said. “(Templeton) just wasn’t swinging at anything, so I tried to change my mindset to throw strikes.”
Fortin allowed runners to get on base in each of her four innings but never let them come around to score. She finished with eight strikeouts.
The offense also had her back as Sereniti Lopez smashed a 3-run home run in the third inning, followed up by an RBI single in her next at bat.
Lopez finished the game 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs.
“The offense always has my back,” Fortin said. “It feels great because, instead of going back to the dugout mad, I gave up some runs. I know my teammate always has me,” Fortin said.
All the Warriors needed to do was have sophomore pitcher Kylie Cheney shut the door with a perfect fifth inning.
“It was just a complete game today,” Tomooka said. “We had good pitching, we hit the ball and we played good defense.”
Righetti will see Templeton two more times in league play this season but first, it will take a quick trip up the 101 to take on Arroyo Grande.
The Eagles will look to turn their season around, losing seven of the first nine games.
“It doesn’t matter who we play, we just need to show energy,” Fortin said. “We are a big energy team.”