GECKOS TAKE CARE OF BULLDOGS, MOVE TO 4-1

By Gabie Tesoro

On a Tuesday afternoon at the diamond, the GW Geckos defended their home field against the Okkodo Bulldogs.

Okkodo brought aggressive offense, but the Geckos relied on hitting and steady defense to secure a 22-12 mercy-rule victory. With the win, GW improves to 4-1 on the season, while the Bulldogs fall to 2-3.

Seniors Aleia Alcantara, shortstop, and pitcher Mikaelah Santos led the way, setting the tone both offensively and defensively.

SMART PLAYS

By the bottom of the third inning, the Geckos held a narrow 10-7 lead. Okkodo applied pressure with quick infield pickups and fast baserunning, but GW answered with smart plays. Geckos’ Jada Alvarez put the ball in play with a grounder, and Alizae Campos followed with a clean hit to keep the offense moving despite the Bulldogs’ defensive efforts.

BACK-AND-FORTH BATTLE

The fourth inning brought momentum swings from both sides. Geckos’ Amaura Daga delivered a strong hit to extend GW’s lead, and senior Aleia Alcantara made a sharp stop and throw to first to shut down Okkodo’s rally. The Bulldogs made a few defensive plays to close the gap to 11-9, but the Geckos quickly responded. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, and Alcantara sent a grounder to the left before Misah Elm drove a clutch hit up the middle to give them the lead, 14-9.

GECKOS BUILD THE LEAD

In the fifth, Alvarez sparked the offense again with a left-side grounder and aggressive baserunning, advancing to third base after miscommunication in Okkodo’s field. Okkodo continued to battle in the sixth, narrowing it to 17-12 with solid hits to center and right field, even making defensive adjustments with a pitcher and catcher switch.

CLOSING WITH CONFIDENCE

GW sealed the win in the bottom of the sixth. Hits from Campos and Daga closed the gap before Alcantara delivered another grounder to the left, bringing in multiple runs.

Senior pitcher Mikaelah Santos credited her defense for the team’s performance. “I just focused on letting the players hit and making my defense work,” she said, adding that Alcantara “really stepped up” filling in and delivering key plays. Alcantara mentioned that while the team performed well on both offense and defense, “we still have to work on our baserunning and not rushing plays, we want better defense this year, and to keep improving our hitting.”

The Bulldogs will compete against Southern on Tuesday (2/17), while the Geckos turn their focus to their matchup against Tiyan on Thursday (2/19), with both teams competing on their home fields.

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY: