Valley
Center’s varsity softball team had a busy week, as the
Lady Jaguars started the Friar’s Tournament here in San
Diego County and also traveled to Yuma, Arizona for the Shamrock
Tournament over the weekend. After the week finished, the Lady
Jags brought home five wins in their nine games.
The first game of the week was at Madison, and despite a close
game early on, the Lady Jags let in some late runs for a 6–2
loss.
Valley Center scored first in the fourth, but Madison scored
twice in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. The Lady
Jags tied the score with another run in the fifth, but Madison
put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the fifth
for the win.
The two runs for Valley Center came on solo home runs by Hana
Gilbert and Gaby Garcia, while Jil Johnson had two hits and
Becca Crain added a single in the loss.
Johnson took the loss, pitching five innings and giving up three
earned runs on seven hits, with three walks and four strikeouts.
Niki Norton came on in relief and gave up one hit and one walk
in one inning pitched.
The Lady Jaguars recovered on the long drive to Yuma and came
away with a big win in the first game, an 11–2 victory
over Calexico.
Once again, the Lady Jags scored first, plating three runs in
the bottom of the third. Calexico scored a run in both the fourth
and the fifth innings, but Valley Center pulled away with five
runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth.
Garcia led the way with two home runs, four RBIs and three runs
scored, while Gilbert had a home run, three singles, an RBI
and two runs scored, Crain had three hits and two runs scored,
Kelly Krause had three hits and a run scored, Alex Scoles had
two hits, three RBIs and a run scored, Alisa Contreras had two
hits and a run scored, and both Norton and Raelyn Rodriguez
had a hit.
Johnson was the winning pitcher, giving up only one hit and
striking out five in two innings pitched. Norton added two innings
of relief, giving up one run on five scattered hits and striking
out two, and Crain finished the game, giving up one run on two
hits with one strikeout in one inning pitched.
The Lady Jags followed the big win with another, this time behind
the stellar pitching of Johnson and Scoles, to take a 10–0
win over Yuma Catholic.
Johnson and Scoles combined to pitch a no–hitter, allowing
only one runner to reach base on a walk by Scoles, while Johnson
struck out six in the win.
Meanwhile, the Valley Center offense showed no signs of slowing
down, as the Lady Jags racked up five runs in the first, one
in the second, two in the third and two more in the fourth to
invoke the mercy rule.
Gilbert led the offense with two hits, an RBI and three runs
scored, while Garcia had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored,
Scoles had a hit, an RBI and two runs scored, Contreras and
Rodriguez each had a hit and a run scored, Mariah Smiley had
a hit and Krause scored a run.
The good hitting continued for Valley Center on day two of the
tournament, as the Lady Jaguars rolled to an 18–1 win
over Arizona St. Vincent on Friday.
The game lasted only three innings, as the Lady Jags scored
eight runs in the first inning, six in the second and four more
in the third, while allowing St. Vincent to score only one run
in the first.
Rodriguez led the way with two hits, four RBIs and a run scored
in the short game, while Krause and Garcia each had two hits,
an RBI and three runs scored, Johnson had two hits, an RBI and
a run scored, Scoles, Crain, Contreras and Gilbert each had
a hit, an RBI and two runs scored, Smiley had a hit, an RBI
and a run scored, and Shawntee Hancock scored a run.
Johnson started the game and allowed just one hit, while striking
out three, in one inning pitched. Scoles came in and pitched
two innings, giving up just one walk and striking out four in
the win.
The second game of the day was against Arizona Bourgade, and
once again Valley Center got hot on offense to come away with
a 9–1 win.
Bourgade scored first with a run in the top of the second, but
the Lady Jags responded with a run in the bottom of the second,
two more in the third, three in the fourth, two in the fifth
and one more to seal the win in the sixth.
Gilbert was a perfect four–for–four with four hits,
an RBI and a run scored to lead the Lady Jags, while Garcia
had two hits, two RBIs and a run scored, Krause had two hits,
an RBI and two runs scored, Johnson and Contreras each had two
hits, an RBI and a run scored, Rodriguez had two hits and two
runs scored, Scoles and Crain each had two hits and Smiley had
a hit and a run scored.
Johnson got the win, pitching four innings, allowing one run
on one hit, with one walk and two strikeouts. Norton pitched
three innings in relief, allowing one hit, with one walk and
two strikeouts.
The first loss of the tournament came against Holtville, as
the Lady Jags couldn’t overcome an early deficit and were
defeated, 4–2.
Holtville scored three runs in the top of the first, then added
another in the second, while the Lady Jaguars could only score
two in the bottom of the fifth in the loss.
Johnson had a hit and drove in the only two Valley Center RBIs,
while Rodriguez had a hit and a run scored, Contreras, Garcia
and Gilbert each had a hit, and Crain scored a run.
Johnson took the loss, pitching five innings, giving up two
earned runs on seven hits, with one walk and two strikeouts.
Valley Center bounced back with another big win in the following
game, as the Lady Jags ran away with a 17–0 win over Arizona
Northwest.
Another fast start propelled the Lady Jags to the win, as they
scored two in the first, five in the second, seven in the fourth
and three in the fifth to end the game early.
Contreras led the way with three hits, four RBIs and two runs
scored, while Gilbert had two hits, three RBIs and two runs
scored, Krause had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, Garcia
and Crain each had two hits and two runs scored, Rodriguez and
Scoles each had two hits and a run scored, Johnson had a hit,
an RBI and three runs scored, Norton had a hit, an RBI and a
run scored, and Smiley had a hit in the win.
Johnson won another game, pitching two innings and allowing
no runners while striking out three. Norton pitched three innings
in relief, allowing just two hits and striking out three.
But the Lady Jaguars came up short in their rematch with Bourgade
in the next game, and suffered a 2–0 loss.
Bourgade scored its two runs in the first inning, and the Lady
Jags could only muster two hits, one each for Contreras and
Scoles, in the shutout loss. Norton pitched five innings and
took the loss, giving up four hits and one walk, with four strikeouts.
And in their final game of the Shamrock Tournament, the Lady
Jaguars couldn’t overcome another early deficit and lost
4–2 to Holtville.
Holtville put up all four runs in the first, while Valley Center
could only score one in the first and one in the sixth in the
loss.
Krause led the Lady Jags on offense with two hits, an RBI and
a run scored, while Contreras had two hits and a run scored,
and both Gilbert and Scoles had a hit.
Johnson took the loss, pitching five innings and allowing one
earned run on three hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts.
Valley Center is now 6–4 overall, with the Friar’s
Tournament continuing on Wednesday at home against Our Lady
of Peace at 3:30 p.m.
