Central Arizona College softball team extends winning streak to 7 games with sweep of Scottsdale

SIGNAL PEAK — After working overtime to earn a 2-1 victory in Game 1, the Central Arizona College softball team knocked off early in Game 2 of Saturday's home doubleheader against Scottsdale with a 13-2 run-rule win.

The Vaqueras extended their winning streak to seven with the sweep, which raised their record to 9-2 overall and 6-0 in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.

"We're getting better," CAC coach Shelby Davis said. "We just have to keep it going."

It took one extra inning for Central to edge the Artichokes (2-6, 2-6 ACCAC) in the opener. With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Jessenia Miranda drove in Felicia Medina with a one-out fielder's choice grounder to second. Medina slid across the plate well before the throw reached the catcher.

Medina was at second to begin the bottom of the eighth. Lindsey Smith advanced her to third with a bunt single.

The Vaqueras had plenty of baserunners against Scottsdale pitcher Danica Cooke, who gave up seven hits and three walks and worked around three errors. But they stranded 10, including eight in scoring position.

Cooke "threw a good game and you've got to give her credit," Davis said. "She forced us to hit a lot of ground balls (14 of CAC's 22 outs came on grounders). But we just didn't make adjustments at the plate."

CAC took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on back-to-back doubles by Devin Hally and Miranda with one out. Scottsdale tied it in the fifth on a leadoff homer by Justine Valles.

The Artichokes had seven hits off Hally, who struck out five and walked one. Hally retired the side in order in the second, third and eighth innings.

"Once again, she was lights out," Davis said of the sophomore right-hander, who pitched a four-hitter with zero earned runs in Tuesday's 9-2 win over Eastern Arizona in the first game of a doubleheader.

CAC's Miranda and Smith each had two hits, as did Scottsdale's Kami Shull and Cooke.

The Vaqueras dominated the Artichokes in Game 2, scoring three runs in each of the first three innings and four in the fourth to notch their fifth run-rule win of the season. They finished with 11 hits, getting two apiece from Samantha Soto, Ashleigh Winters and Medina.

Winning pitcher Kyrstan Garcia allowed eight hits. She struck out one and walked one.

"She was hitting her spots," Davis said of the freshman right-hander, who escaped a bases-loaded situation in the fourth with no damage.

Medina's two-run single in the CAC first followed two walks and a hit batter. Garcia's RBI single made it 3-0.

Brittany Holland and Medina had RBI singles in the second. The other run scored on a wild pitch by Scottsdale starter Shull.

The Artichokes put up two runs in the top of the third on Shull's RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Lynzee Bollinger.

The Vaqueras scored their final seven runs with two outs.

In the bottom of the third, former Vista Grande High School standout Annalisa Cordova doubled home Garcia, who was aboard with a one-out double. Samantha Soto, playing in her first CAC game, followed with a two-run homer over the left-field fence.

Miranda and Soto had RBI singles in the fourth off reliever Bailey Honne before Winters capped the rally with a two-run single.

"We came out and jumped on them from the start," Davis said. "Their pitching wasn't as good, but we made better adjustments."

Next up for Central is a Tuesday twinbill at Arizona Western, which was 5-1 in ACCAC play going into Saturday's doubleheader at Paradise Valley.