Huntington Beach, Calif. - A hard fought game ends in an upset as the Rustlers fall to Cypress College 7-3 on Friday. 

Since pitcher Lali Rios suffered an arm injury, pitcher Sennie Viramontes has had to take on the responsibility of pitching seven innings on short rest continuously. Within the last week, Viramontes has thrown around 500 pitches to opponents. Although the coaching staff is pleased with her performances, there is no doubt she is fatigued. 

Fortunately, Rios is making her way back from said injury. Rios threw a bullpen with Assistant Coach Alan Caouette prior to today's game, who was pleased with what he saw. She made her way into the lineup as the designated player, going 0 for 3 with a strikeout, fly out, and a ground out. 

"With Lali coming in, it will help Sennie get rested, and in the second half of the season they will start producing at a higher level," Caouette said. 

Viramontes's stat line today reads: 7 IP / 10 H (1 HR)  / 7 R / 6 ER / 3 BB / 2 SO.

The Rustlers answered the Chargers' run in the bottom of first inning, and went on to add two more runs to the scoreboard. The only RBI of the game for the Rustlers belongs to first baseman Yazmine Banos, who hit a single into left field in the fourth inning. 

"These girls came out here and battled them for seven straight innings in a 3-3 game. Cypress just had more depth than we had today, so ultimately that led to the win," Caouette said. "I think we are at that point where we are going to start getting over that hump and start winning some of these close games." 

NEXT: The Rustlers will take on Rio Hondo at home on Saturday starting at Noon. 

Written By Marissa Lavezzari