Roman's slam, Ray's 10 Ks give Cibola first-round shutout

For those familiar with Cibola's softball team this year, Saturday's 10-0 win against Phoenix-North was nothing out of the ordinary. 
 
But with undoubtedly higher stakes, a slight roster change, a one-hit effort from pitcher Sarah Ray and a first-inning grand slam from Alex Roman, the Raiders' latest shutout can hardly be called ho-hum.
 
"I think they had some fight in them," Cibola coach Shelly Baumann said. "We had a little adversity at second base with Alexis (Gorman) being sick, and Rebecca Lackey came in and did her job. Everybody's a part of the team and needs to step up in state, and she was ready to go."
 
Cibola (18-2 AIA) got its 2009 5A-II State Tournament run off on the right foot with Saturday's run-ruled game that lasted less than an hour. The Raiders will try to go 2-for-2 at home on Tuesday when they host No. 5 Tucson-Sunnyside at 4 p.m. Sunnyside stayed in the winner's bracket with a 4-1 win over Yuma.
 
The No. 4 seed in the tournament got after the Mustangs (12-7) from the get-go. After a 1-2-3 first inning in the field behind Ray's pitching, the Raiders put their first five hitters on base, scored a run and loaded the bases for Roman. Two pitches later, Roman crushed a ball high and well beyond the fence in left field.
 
"That's my first one," Roman said of the grand slam. "I was probably a little anxious to swing because it's state, and we wanted to do what we came to do. (Early runs) make the game a lot easier because we can settle down a little."
 
Despite Gorman's absence in the leadoff spot due to illness and Roman's move from fifth to sixth in the lineup, Cibola's offensive motor didn't skip a beat. The Raiders added four more runs in the second inning with RBI singles from Roman and Kacy Boyd, and capitalized on a errant North throw to third base. After two scoreless innings, Cibola closed the book on a bases-loaded RBI sacrifice fly from Jackie Newbourn.
 
"We moved the runners and did what we're supposed to do to get the W," Baumann said. "Alex has been struggling a little bit, so we moved her down in the lineup and she responded with excellent hits at the right times."
 
Ray was her usual self in the circle with a one-hit shutout, striking out seven of the first nine North batters and finishing with 10 total Ks and two walks. North's lone hit was a sharp single up the middle by Marissa Pfifer to lead off the second inning.
 
"Their one through four hitters are good hitters, and Sarah and Kacy did a good job keeping them off guard," Baumann said. "It's nice to see they're hungry and ready to go."
 
Five different Raiders had two hits including Lackey, who was 2-for-3 with two singles and the game-ending run.