Sahuaro third baseman Jasmin Lopez finished her freshman year with a home run in her last at-bat.
Tied with two outs in the top of the seventh inning Thursday, Lopez picked up her sophomore year where last year's ended: with another homer.
Lopez's two-run home run was lined over the left-field fence to give Sahuaro a 4-2 win in extra innings over Gilbert Mesquite in the Dorado Classic at Mike Jacob Sports Park. Lopez finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
βI don't think that ball got seven feet off the ground,β Sahuaro softball coach Jeff Fowler said of the game-winner. βShe's focused and she's been hitting the ball ever since she's gotten to Sahuaro.β
Junior pitcher Lexy Coons struggled in the first inning, as she walked one, hit two batters with pitches and surrendered two runs without allowing a hit. She settled down to quiet the Wildcats' bats after the first inning to hurl a one-hit, 14-strikeout effort in the win.
βI had to get mentally tough and work with my catcher to find the zone and the ump's zone,β Coons said. βWe just went through the game plan and worked inside-out with my curveball and screwball, and my change-up helped keep batters off-balance.β
The Cougars offense notched 10 hits, but the only one for extra bases was Lopez's homer.
While Fowler was encouraged by the team's ability to stick together and pull out a win, but noted he'd like to see his young team β which has just two seniors β play more aggressively.
βIt looks like they're never going to quit, which is a good sign,β Fowler said. βThey battled the whole way through, they never gave up or got down on each other. We're young and I'd like to get them be a little more aggressive, but we're going to keep fighting and fighting and keep going.β
