Blevins leads the way as Canyon del Oro beats rival Ironwood Ridge

Gabi Blevins and the Canyon del Oro softball team closed out the regular season in festive fashion on Tuesday afternoon.

Now it’s time for business.

The Dorados, ranked second in Division II, used a four-run first inning to take down No. 1 Ironwood Ridge 5-3 on senior night. The victory extended CDO’s winning streak to 15 games and marked the second time this season it has beaten the Nighthawks.

“We finished strong, we finished hard, we fought and it was such an amazing time to be able to finish as a senior, especially against your rival – it just makes is 10 times better,” said Blevins, a senior pitcher who struck out seven for the complete-game victory.

“Now that playoffs are here, we’ve really just have got to buckle down,” Blevins added. “I know the girls have got it in us; we’re going to fight. It’s coming, we’re not done.”

State tournament brackets come out on Thursday afternoon. Both CDO and I-Ridge will have a first-round bye in Division II action before hosting a second-round game next Tuesday. The 24-team tournament is double elimination beyond the second round, with a winner-take-all championship game.

CDO, which carries a 27-1-1 overall record, is hoping to get back to the finals game for the first time since losing to I-Ridge in the 2014 Division II state championship game. Since that loss, the Dorados have logged three straight wins in the series.

There is a possibility of two more meetings between the rivals over the next three weeks.

“If we see them in the final, I think we’ve got them,” CDO senior Carli Campbell said. “If they’re not on our bracket or they are on our bracket, we’ll face them again. Even in the final, I think we’ve got them both times.”

Campbell scored the first run of the game Tuesday, when she came home on an error with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Two batters after her score, sophomore A.J. Kaiser produced a three-run, pinch-hit double to give the Dorados a 4-0 lead.

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“It’s just what you love for,” Kaiser said. “It’s what you want to do, it’s what you’re expected to do. I just did my job.”

I-Ridge loaded the bases in its next at-bad but couldn’t bring home any runs. The Nighthawks managed to quiet CDO’s offense for the next few innings and then began to solve Blevins.

Senior leadoff hitter Loriann Olson singled to open up the fifth inning and then senior centerfielder Reina Bondi got on with a walk. Sophomore third baseman Izzy Pacho broke up the shutout with an RBI single one batter later, to score Olson from second.

After that, junior shortstop Annika Baez walked to load the bases – still with no outs – and then senior Skylar Bracety brought in Bondi on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Pacheco scored on batter later on a sac fly by freshman Jaiden Reid to make it a one-run game.

“We did some good things,” I-Ridge coach Rich Alday said. “We made one crucial error in the first inning and that was the only error we had. Other than that, we were fine. We came back, battled back and momentum was on our side.”

CDO pulled the momentum back in the bottom of the sixth inning, when it pushed its lead to 5-3 after Kaiser scored on a bases-loaded groundout by leadoff hitter Ellessa Bontrom.

“We should be winning state,” Kaiser said. “We’re very confident, we’re a good team and I think we could do it this year.”

Blevins then made quick work of the Nighthawks in their final at-bat, retiring three straight to seal the win. She improved to 7-0 with the victory and was one of 12 Dorardos seniors honored after the game.

“Gabi got into a little bit of trouble and cruised right out of it,” CDO coach Kelly Fowler said. “I think that will definitely help us going down the stretch. It was nice to see her do that, especially being a senior and having a senior moment.”