SFIS beats Robertson, takes district lead
So let it be said, so let it be done. It was not the best day of softball for Santa Fe Indian School shortstop Caitlyn Cruz. The senior played with a jammed pinkie finger that hurt with every throw and every time she connected with the ball during a District 2-3A game against district leader Las Vegas Robertson. But Lady Braves head coach Oliver Torres told her if she could make it through one more swing, it would be worth it.
Cruz did just that, as her single up the middle scored the winning run of a 7-6 win in eight innings at the SFIS athletic complex on Tuesday that propelled SFIS (14-4 overall) into the district lead with a 4-1 record. The Lady Cardinals are second at 2-1. The hit capped a three-run rally after Robertson scored twice in the top of the eighth to take a 6-4 lead.
“I just told [Cruz], ‘We need one base hit to win this thing,’ ” Torres said. “‘Just a nice hit over second base and we’ll score the run and win the game. You don’t need to hit it hard.’ So, she went up there and for got a nice hit over second base and and ended the game and the girls were happy.”
It made up for some sloppy defense in the sixth and eighth innings that allowed Robertson to take the lead each time. In the sixth, the Lady Cardinals executed a squeeze play and Lady Braves pitcher Alyssa Naranjo’s throw to second baseman Brianna Gutierrez, who was covering first, was bobbled and it allowed a run to score for a 4-3 Lady Cardinals lead. SFIS tied the score in the bottom of the seventh on Franki Chavez’s two-out RBI single that scored Jayda Lucario.
Robertson opened the eighth, which started with a runner on second base in accordance with international rules for extra innings, with an RBI single and scored another run thanks to a couple of Lady Braves errors for a two-run cushion. Jalene Chalan opened the bottom of the frame with an RBI single and she scored on Kiera Mermejo-Varga’s double to set the scene for Cruz.
“We’re excited to know that we can compete with the best,” Torres said. “I think Robertson is the number-one team in the state, even though it might not show [in the rankings]. The difference between our team and the other big teams is they have fast pitchers and we like to hit fast pitchers.”
The Lady Horsemen took an 11-10 lead in the sixth inning on Lauryn Pecos’ two-run single and Isabella Lopez’s RBI single, but the Lady Tigers responded with a single and an RBI triple to force extra innings in a 2-3A game in Christian Brothers Athletic Complex. In the eighth, the Lady Tigers opened with back-to-back RBI doubles for the final margin.
Pecos led a 15-hit attack by St. Michael’s (5-10, 1-4) with a 3-for-4 performance that included three RBIs, and Athena Archuleta went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Lynnsey Glidewell went 2-for-4 and scored three runs.