Loma Linda Softball Team Loses Opener

Tomorrow is another day.

Every coach tells their team that at some point during their careers.

For Loma Linda Little League softball coach Allan Reeder, it was the message he left his team with after Tuesday night's 22-2 loss to Colton's Ken Hubbs Little League in the District 21 Tournament.

"I used the saying in coaching I learned a long time ago, it's just flush it," Reeder said. "You flush the last game. It's gone. You can't change it. You just look to the future and play like you know how to play ball."

The Loma Linda team will have to get past Tuesday night's loss quickly, as they will play in an elimation game at 6 p.m. tonight at Veterans Park in Colton.

Tuesday night's game unraveled in the second inning. Already down 4-1, Ken Hubbs sent 16 batters to the plate, and scored 13 times. They added five more in the third, sending 10 to the plate.

Sabrina Gutierrez had a big game at the plate for Ken Hubbs, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored, and falling a single short of a cycle. Leadoff hitter Selena Luna was also 3-for-3, with four runs scored. And Serena Conteras was 3-for-4 with three runs and four runs batted in.

Loma Linda starting pitcher Chelsea Reeder had the team's only hit, a leadoff single in the first inning, and came around to score the first run. Kayja Sitowski plated Loma Linda's other run, drawing a walk in the second inning, and scoring when a pick off attempt went awry for Ken Hubbs.

Despite the loss, Allan Reeder remained high on his team, and thinks that tomorrow will be a better day.

"I tell them that I know their potential, I've seen them in practice," he said. "They didn't play up to their potential and they knew it. So I just tell them, hey, let's show them what we're made of now. Let's show them how we really play ball. Don't keep your heads down. Let everything go that's happened before and let's play."