Shadow Ridge rides first-inning rally to win

Clements’ 4-for-4 performance keys Mustangs’ victory

It took all of three pitches for Shadow Ridge’s softball team to show it meant business. Single, single, walk, and the Mustangs weren’t done.

Shadow Ridge scored five runs in the first inning of the seventh-place game of the Spring Jamboree on Saturday and coasted to an 8-2 victory over El Camino Real (California).

“It’s setting the tone for the rest of the game, as far as we can tell,” Shadow Ridge coach Julia Meyn said.

The first five hitters reached in the first for the Mustangs, punctuated by an RBI double from Raelyn Kendall. She scored on a single by Angelina Esqueda to complete the scoring, and it was 5-0 before El Camino Real could catch its breath.

Shea Clements was the spark plug for Shadow Ridge. She singled on the game’s first pitch and finished 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI.

“I definitely like going after the first pitch,” Clements said. “It gets myself ahead of the game and makes the pitcher more intimidated.”

Jazmine Martin took a shutout into the sixth inning before allowing back-to-back home runs. She struck out three and allowed seven hits before being lifted in the sixth with

nobody out.

Shadow Ridge finished as the top local team in the tournament for the second straight year, after taking third in 2017. The three-day event included Palo Verde, Centennial, Desert Oasis, Sierra Vista, Liberty and Pahrump Valley.

Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-Journal @Erik_Verduzco Shadow Ridge’s Shea Clements slides safely into third base during the team’s five-run first inning in the Spring Jamboree’s seventh-place game against El Camino Real (California) at Majestic Park.