AWC sweeps Nevada teams
February 04, 2012 11:18 PM
Entering Saturday, the Arizona Western softball team was 2-4 during its home tournament, the Great Western Shootout, and the pitching staff was battered bruised.
Nothing like a couple complete game victories to change the complexion of things.
The Matadors won both games Saturday, topping Western Nevada 13-5 in the opener, then closing the tournament with a 7-5 win over Southern Nevada.
“We need these couple wins to show us we can play seven innings,” said AWC coach Nikki Bethurum of her Matadors, who improved to 9-6 and will resume conference play Tuesday at Central Arizona.
In their eighth game since Thursday, the Matadors closed the tournament against the Coyotes. Taylor Bashor, who had three hits in the game, capped a big first inning with a two-run single. AWC starter Patricia Porter didn't give up a hit until the third, but the Coyote slugger Alicia Firelein had a two-run home run in the frame. The bomb could have been avoided. With two outs, shortstop Marina Quijano had a chance to tag a runner out at second, but instead decided to forego the out and try to get Kalei Adams out at the plate. Everyone ended up safe, and Firelein let rip the blast to left to make the score 4-3.
Quijano also had two errors in the fourth leading to a Coyotes run. But AWC had padded the lead to 7-3 with three runs, highlighted by Julia Shrum's two-run single.
Bethurum said after hosting so many games, the field had seen better days.
“It's still a little choppy,” Bethurum said. “It just comes down to confidence. If you're out there as a player and you feel that choppiness, sometimes you think too much about what the ball can do instead of just ‘I need to go get the ball.' And that's what happened. The ball played us. We didn't play the ball very well.”
In all, she said, she was happy the errors didn't snowball.
“It may have taken us one or two, but someone was able to step up and make a play,” Bethurum said. It didn't trickle and trickle and trickle and end up biting us.” Porter (2-0) went the distance, allowing nine hits. The Coyotes scored a run in the seventh to cut the deficit to 7-5 and loaded the bases, but Porter struck out Erin Romero to end the game.
“Trish did very good at keeping the ball low and making it move, and that's what's got to happen against big girls,” Bethurum said. “That team had some very big girls, some heavy hitters. The only thing you can do against them is mix up the pitches and keep them off balance and make them guess at what you're going to throw next.”
In the early game, AWC — acting as the visitors — trailed 3-1 after one. But the Matadors took the lead in the third, and added four runs each in the sixth and seventh for the wins.
Yesenia Perez (1-0) went the distance, allowing two earned runs and striking out nine. Brittany Vanderdrink and Tori Rich had three runs each. Bashor added another two hits.
Nothing like a couple complete game victories to change the complexion of things.
The Matadors won both games Saturday, topping Western Nevada 13-5 in the opener, then closing the tournament with a 7-5 win over Southern Nevada.
“We need these couple wins to show us we can play seven innings,” said AWC coach Nikki Bethurum of her Matadors, who improved to 9-6 and will resume conference play Tuesday at Central Arizona.
In their eighth game since Thursday, the Matadors closed the tournament against the Coyotes. Taylor Bashor, who had three hits in the game, capped a big first inning with a two-run single. AWC starter Patricia Porter didn't give up a hit until the third, but the Coyote slugger Alicia Firelein had a two-run home run in the frame. The bomb could have been avoided. With two outs, shortstop Marina Quijano had a chance to tag a runner out at second, but instead decided to forego the out and try to get Kalei Adams out at the plate. Everyone ended up safe, and Firelein let rip the blast to left to make the score 4-3.
Quijano also had two errors in the fourth leading to a Coyotes run. But AWC had padded the lead to 7-3 with three runs, highlighted by Julia Shrum's two-run single.
Bethurum said after hosting so many games, the field had seen better days.
“It's still a little choppy,” Bethurum said. “It just comes down to confidence. If you're out there as a player and you feel that choppiness, sometimes you think too much about what the ball can do instead of just ‘I need to go get the ball.' And that's what happened. The ball played us. We didn't play the ball very well.”
In all, she said, she was happy the errors didn't snowball.
“It may have taken us one or two, but someone was able to step up and make a play,” Bethurum said. It didn't trickle and trickle and trickle and end up biting us.” Porter (2-0) went the distance, allowing nine hits. The Coyotes scored a run in the seventh to cut the deficit to 7-5 and loaded the bases, but Porter struck out Erin Romero to end the game.
“Trish did very good at keeping the ball low and making it move, and that's what's got to happen against big girls,” Bethurum said. “That team had some very big girls, some heavy hitters. The only thing you can do against them is mix up the pitches and keep them off balance and make them guess at what you're going to throw next.”
In the early game, AWC — acting as the visitors — trailed 3-1 after one. But the Matadors took the lead in the third, and added four runs each in the sixth and seventh for the wins.
Yesenia Perez (1-0) went the distance, allowing two earned runs and striking out nine. Brittany Vanderdrink and Tori Rich had three runs each. Bashor added another two hits.
