An uncharacteristic performance defensively led to an uncharacteristic season-ending upset loss for the second-ranked team in Division III softball May 6.
Camp Verde High School entered the postseason riding high, finishing undefeated in Section V on a five-game winning streak to become the No. 2 seed in the state tournament.
But bad news rode in even before the Cowboys’ first playoff game against Morenci Junior/Senior High School at Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Peoria. Sophomore starting outfielder Amber Dodge had been academically ineligible since the season finale April 23, and two senior reserves were also lost to what head coach Henry Smith would only call “personal stuff.”
Although the remaining nine CVHS regulars hung with the Wildcats in their second round game, tying the game with two runs in the fourth inning, the bottom dropped out in a five-run Morenci fifth from which not even junior ace Taya Smith could recover in a 10-3 loss.
“We just had a couple of key errors throughout the game that made it impossible to come back,” Henry Smith said. “Morenci, they’re a very good team. We could probably play them next weekend and do a ton better. Who knows why things happen?”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, May 20, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
