Vaqueras sweep Arizona Western, extend winning streak to 16 games

SIGNAL PEAK — There was no cooling off for the hottest softball team in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.

Central Arizona College extended its winning streak to 16 games by sweeping a doubleheader from visiting Arizona Western on Saturday. The Vaqueras prevailed 8-0 and 9-1, with both games ending in the bottom of the sixth inning under the eight-run rule.

"Consistency" is the reason CAC has won 24 of its last 25, coach Shelby Davis said. The lone loss during that stretch came at home on March 10 against Howard, Texas.

"We're not trying to do too much," Davis said. "We're keeping things basic and not trying to overthink things. The girls are working hard every day and not overlooking any one game. We've made a lot of progress."

The Vaqueras (35-6, 27-3 ACCAC) climbed into the NJCAA poll for the first time this season, snagging the No. 20 spot in the latest rankings. They trailed No. 10 Yavapai by three games going into Saturday's action, but were tied with the conference-leading Roughriders in the loss column.

Pitchers Devin Hally and Kyrstan Garcia were superb for Central in Saturday's sweep. Hally, a sophomore right-hander, limited the Matadors to five hits in the opener. Garcia, a freshman right-hander, allowed a home run on the second pitch of Game 2 but only two hits thereafter.

"They are setting the tempo for everything," Davis said. "If they don't set the tone, maybe we don't generate the runs or play good defense behind them."

Garcia (20-2) had five strikeouts and Hally (14-3) finished with four. Both issued one walk and hit a batter.

Brittany Holland was the hitting star for the Vaqueras, going 5 for 8 with two home runs and seven RBIs on the day. Holland went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer in Game 1 and 3 for 4 with a three-run homer in Game 2. She has a team-leading 11 home runs on the season.

Ashleigh Withers smacked a two-run triple in the opener, and Lindsey Smith had three RBIs in Game 2. Central finished with 11 hits in Game 1 and 13 in Game 2.

"Our overall approach at the plate is becoming so much better," Davis said. "We're not swinging at pitches out of the strike zone and finding good ones to hit."

Central ended Game 1 with a four-run sixth. Back-to-back doubles by Felicia Medina and Jessenia Miranda made it 5-0. After former Vista Grande High School standout Annalisa Cordova singled, Withers tripled to drive in two runs. The game ended on Holland's RBI single.

Brianna Moeller gave CAC a 1-0 lead with an RBI triple in the first. Cordova had a sacrifice fly in the second, and Holland's two-run homer in the third put the Vaqueras up 4-0.

Hally gave up three singles in the second, which ended with a double-play liner to second, and two singles in the sixth after retiring nine consecutive batters.

Arizona Western (27-16, 19-15 ACCAC) took a 1-0 lead in Game 2 on Allison Betty's leadoff homer in the first. Betty also had a two-out double in the third.

CAC went ahead to stay in the bottom of the first on Smith's two-run single. The Vaqueras batted around in the second, scoring five runs to extend the lead to 7-1. Miranda tripled and scored an error, Withers singled to drive in a run and Holland's three-run homer capped the rally.

The Matadors loaded the bases in the fifth on a hit batter, an error and Julie Roach's two-out single before Garcia got the final out on a fly to center.

The CAC sixth began with singles by Cordova, who went 3 for 4, and Withers. After Holland singled with one out to drive in Cordova, the game ended on Smith's RBI groundout.

Withers and Moeller both had two hits in each game. Medina had two hits in the opener, and Smith had two in Game 2.