Any doubts of how Tuesday’s (May 11) 6A Conference softball semifinal might end were put to rest as top-seeded Xavier Prep scored 10 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to defeat No. 8 seed Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor, 12-2, with the 10-run rule in effect.
Xavier
(17-2) now moves on to a semifinal game at Petznick Field on Thursday (May 13)
against No. 4 Phoenix Pinnacle (15-5). First pitch is at 4:05 p.m.
The Gators
defeated Pinnacle, 4-3, in the final regular season game for both teams on May
5 at Pinnacle, which is coached by former Xavier head coach Bobby Pena.
The key to
Xavier’s big offensive outburst against Sandra Day O’Connor in the fifth inning
was a grand slam by junior Emma Petersen. That gave Xavier an 11-2 lead.
Another
essential hit for the Gators was produced by senior Jazmin Andrade, who
connected for a two-run double. Andrade also drove in a third run earlier in
the game with a home run.
Junior
pitcher Riley Flynn earned the victory, giving up two runs on four hits with
four walks and four strikeouts.
Thursday’s
semifinal winners will advance to the 6A state championship game on Monday (May
17) at the University of Arizona’s Hillenbrand Stadium in Tucson. The other
semifinal will feature No. 11 Surprise Shadow Ridge and No. 7 Mesa Red
Mountain.
No comments:
Post a Comment