AZTEC – Kamora Henry provided the spark in the circle and at the plate, leading the Aztec High School softball team to an 8-1 victory Friday night at the Tiger Sports Complex over Gallup.
Henry was nearly untouchable for the Tigers, racking up 10 strikeouts in a complete-game effort. She allowed only one hit and one walk while keeping Gallup off-balance from the opening pitch, finishing the game by striking out the side in the seventh inning.
Aztec (14-4 overall, 6-0 District) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. Ayasha Yellow ignited the offense with a line-drive double to right field and later crossed the plate on a hard-hit grounder by Cami Lucio that resulted in a Gallup error.
Gallup managed to pull even in the top of the fourth when Leia Tso led off with a double and eventually scored on an error to tie the game at 1-1. However, the deadlock was short-lived.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Henry helped her own cause with a lead-off double. Courtesy runner Nikki North scored moments later on an RBI single by Kayci Phillips to reclaim the lead. The Tigers added two more runs in the frame, capitalizing on defensive miscues by Gallup to extend the cushion to 4-1.
The Tigers’ bats stayed hot in the late innings. Christina Whitehorse notched an RBI single in the fifth, and Lucio broke the game open in the sixth with a two-run single that scored Jaycee Douglas and Cheyenne Yellow. Phillips capped the scoring with her second RBI single of the day, driving in Lucio for the final 8-1 margin.
Phillips finished the day with three hits and two RBIs, while Cheyenne Yellow added a pair of singles for the Tigers.
Madison Martinez took the loss for Gallup, who now fall a game behind Aztec in the district standing. The Bengals (11-9 overall, 5-1 District) have lost two in a row and will look to bounce back at home Tuesday against Bloomfield.
Aztec will look to continue its unblemished district record this week with a pair of road games, Tuesday at Shiprock followed by a trip to Bloomfield on Thursday.
In a game defined by high-flying offenses and clearing the fences, the Piedra Vista High School softball team used a relentless power display to overwhelm Volcano Vista 14-4 Friday night at the Farmington Sports Complex.
The Panthers (16-6 overall, 4-2 District 1-5A) launched five home runs over five innings, turning a back-and-forth early contest into a runaway victory capped by a 10-run rule margin in the bottom of the fifth.
Isabella Jessee anchored the Piedra Vista attack, finishing the day with two home runs and five RBIs. Her first blast, a three-run shot to left field in the bottom of the first, immediately erased an early 2-0 deficit created by Volcano Vista’s aggressive start.
The Hawks (14-7, 3-3) briefly reclaimed the lead in the top of the second when Breanna Griego followed a Kaylee Sanchez single with a two-run homer to right field. However, the Panthers’ bats were just warming up.
In the bottom of the second, pitcher Druscilla Nabors helped her own cause, crushing a two-run home run to center field, giving the Panthers a 5-4 lead they would never relinquish. Raegan Lefebre added to the tally in the third with a towering two-run shot of her own to left.
The Panthers broke the game open in a four-run fourth inning. After Nabors drove in a run with a single, Jessee belted her second home run of the afternoon—a two-run shot to left. Octaviana John followed immediately with a solo home run to the same spot, pushing the lead to 11-4.
The game ended in the bottom of the fifth via the run rule. After a bases-loaded walk to Michaela Perea forced in a run, Jessee provided the final blow with a two-run single to center, scoring Kiara Chee and Marquel Peace.
Volcano Vista’s Kaylee Sanchez had a strong day in the leadoff spot, finishing 3-for-3, while Griego added two hits and three RBIs. Despite the offensive production, the Hawks struggled to contain the Panthers’ power, and reliever Michaela Perea’s solid three strikeouts in relief couldn’t stem the tide of the fifth-inning surge.
Nabors and Perea combined in the circle for the Panthers, effectively shutting down the Hawks over the final three frames.
Piedra Vista will look to keep the bats hot when they visit Cibola on Tuesday.