No, this is not a misprint.
Yes, you
probably never thought you would see Xavier Prep’s softball team, which could
author a book on how to put together a 10-run victory and go home early, found
itself on the opposite end of that scenario on Tuesday (March 22) when it was
stunned by host Chandler Basha 10-0 in five innings.
Xavier
dropped to 10-3 while Basha climbed to 9-3.
It didn’t
take long to notice that something was amiss with the Gators.
As the
visiting team, they stood in against a rising sophomore pitcher, Natalie Fritz,
to begin the game. It was almost as if they were a bit surprised in regard to
how fast some of her pitches got in on them. The first two batters struck out
and it set the tone.
Fritz went
on to give up just three hits and struck out six.
“I guess you
could say that they (Gator hitters) were swinging in an attempt to match
(Fritz’s) power,’’ said Xavier coach Brad Downes.
Meanwhile,
Xavier senior pitcher Riley Flynn was having a day to forget.
She gave up
three runs on four hits in the first inning, three runs on three hits in the
third inning, and four runs on six hits in the fourth inning, two runs coming
on a home run by Alma Quinney that landed just over the fence in the left-field
corner.
The
defensive play of the day came by Xavier left fielder Sofia Zielinski, who charged
across the foul line to snag a foul ball just at the last second before coming
in contact with the fence in the bottom of the fourth inning. She was not
injured.
Only two
Xavier runners reached as far as second base in the contest, one of them a
double by Flynn in the second inning.
Downes gave
credit to Basha.
“They did a
good job,’’ he said. “They were simplifying their approach and putting the ball
in play.’’
Xavier
hitters will face another challenge in the team’s next game on Friday (March
25) when XCP travels to Ahwatukee to face Phoenix Desert Vista. The Thunder
feature one of the state’s top arms in junior Jocelyn Briski, who already has committed
to the University of Alabama.
“Hopefully,
this will have been a good learning experience for us and we can see how we
respond the next time out,’’ Downes said.
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