Sahuaro softball coach Jeff Fowler knew his team was in trouble in the first inning after his team committed two errors to allow four unearned runs to cross the plate. It just wasn't the Cougars' night.
Ironwood Ridge (31-4) swung hot bats as it rattled off 12 hits, including seven for extra bases, to beat No. 3 Sahuaro 12-0 in five innings and snap a 14-game win streak for the Cougars.
I-Ridge senior pitcher Mandy Lorenson tossed a shutout, allowing just four hits. She struck out four batters and didn't allow a base runner to reach third base all night.
The win marks the second time I-Ridge clipped Sahuaro this season, both by the 10-run rule.
With the win, No. 2 Ironwood Ridge will play No. 4 Glendale Cactus on Thursday at Rose Mofford Sports Complex at 6:30 p.m. in the Division II state semifinals. The Cougars play No. 5 Phoenix Arcadia Wednesday night at Amphitheater High School at 6:30 p.m. in an elimination game.
“We're going to take this one step, one game at a time,” Lorenson said. “We just have to keep calm and keep our heads clear. The next step is state.”
Back-to-back errors with two outs in the first inning doomed Sahuaro junior pitcher Lexy Coons from the start, as the Nighthawks pounced for four quick runs.
In the second inning, senior center fielder Reina Bondi tripled to right field to bring in a run for a 5-0 advantage. Sophomore Isabel Pacho, the next batter, launched a two-run home run over the center-field fence to make it 7-0.
In the third, I-Ridge piled on four more runs, as Bondi doubled home two runs and Pacho followed with her second two-run homer.
The Nighthawks scored their final run in the fourth, as Alexis Orth came off the bench to pinch-hit and launched the first pitch she saw over the right-center field fence for a solo home run and a 12-0 cushion.
Bondi and Pacho combined to drive in seven runs and score four times.
“Once I saw my pitch, I knew I was going after it,” said Pacho, who now has 10 homers on the season. “It's another home run for me, but it's also another run for my team. At this point, I just want to win state.”
Coons, Sahuaro's ace, was shelled for 10 hits and 11 runs (six earned) and even committed one the Cougars' four errors of the ball. Coons was also roughed up against I-Ridge earlier in the year, as they've recorded 22 runs off her this season.
“They got her number, that's for sure right now,” Fowler said. “It doesn't help that we made four errors. It makes a difference, but if we don't score, we can't win. Hats off to them, we're just going to have find better at-bats and put the ball in play.”
Fowler found some irony in the fact that the last time the Cougars lost to Ironwood Ridge, Sahuaro reeled off 14 consecutive wins. The Cougars are hoping for a similar run with its back to the wall, facing elimination.
“When I took Lexy out, I just said it's over with,” Fowler said. “You've done so many good things, this is just not one of your days. We get rid of it. Maybe the good thing is after we lost to Ironwood Ridge we rattled off 14 wins in a row. Hopefully we find a way to face them one more time.”
— Chuck Constantino
Badgers fall to Glendale Cactus
PHOENIX — Tuesday was one of those nights for the Tucson High softball team.
By the time junior pitcher Mia Trejo settled down in the second inning of the Division II winner’s bracket semifinal, Glendale Cactus led 3-0.
And by the time Badgers batters found holes in the airtight Cobras defense, it was the seventh inning and Tucson was unlikely to dig out of its 6-0 hole.
No. 4-seeded Cactus (27-7) allowed a RBI single to sophomore Analeisa Bajarano but quickly closed out a 6-1 victory at Rose Mofford Sports Complex.
“I give their pitcher credit," Tucson coach Danielle Rodriguez said. "She moved the ball around and hit her spots. I think we were a little too ‘mental’ up at the plate. We tend to wait a little bit later in games.
"We have to realize this late in the playoffs all these teams are great and it’s going to be hard to come from behind all the time.”
Tucson's season isn't over, but now the Badgers will have their backs against the wall in the double-elimination event.
Cactus grabbed the lead before Tucson recorded an out in the first. Singles by seniors Alexis Malave and Paulla Yenkevich and freshman Alynah Torres made it 1-0. Sophomore Emile Guerra then drove in two on a bloop hit to shallow left.
That 3-0 lead was plenty for senior Tatum Porras, who pitched a complete game, striking out seven. She allowed just one Badger runner in scoring position before the seventh.
When No. 8 Tucson (24-9) got hold of a Porras pitch, the Cactus outfielders tracked it down.
That rang true in the fourth. Senior Romy Sandoval led off the inning with a drive to deep left, but junior Brynlee Gibbs backed up to the fence, bent it halfway back and managed to snag the blast.
“We told them certain girls numbers and that when they come to the plate, back up,” Cactus coach Bartt Underwood said. “If she wasn’t playing back there, I don’t know if she gets back to catch that. That could have switched momentum, who knows.”
Cactus plays No. 2 Ironwood Ridge at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Mofford for one spot in the Division II title game.
All things considered, Rodriguez is happy to have another chance at home. Tucson faces a familiar foe, No. 6 Salpointe Catholic, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Amphitheater High School.
“We did get beat by (Salpointe) earlier in the season and I think the girls would agree we didn’t play our best," Rodriguez said. "We were pretty terrible actually. They’re a good team and it’s going to be who makes the least amount of errors."
— Richard Smith
