Clarkdale-Jerome School jumped on Camp Verde Middle School for five first-inning runs, scoring three more in the third to seal its second straight Verde Valley Athletic Association Small Schools Softball title Saturday, April 23.
“It was an amazing win,” said Joel Rosenberg, second-year head coach. “We were able to consistently just keep manufacturing runs.”
Makayla Brogdon, one of just two eighth-graders on the Mingus Rams, pitched all six innings for the 10-5 win despite allowing four of the Cowboys’ first five hitters to score in the third inning.
“When you have an outstanding pitcher, it really helps,” Rosenberg said. “Makayla’s pitching was on the spot.”
Outfielder Makena Watson, the only fifth-grader named to the all-tournament team, doubled home sixth-grader Alexis Ayersman to put the Mingus Rams up, 6-1, after two innings. Ayersman would hit safely and score three times from the leadoff spot in the order in the first three innings.
“Makena Watson worked extremely hard and got into the starting lineup,” Rosenberg said. “She’s a phenomenal
player, too.”
Her older sister and fellow all-tournament selection, Kaylee, a seventh-grader, also had an RBI and scored in the first inning following a run from the Mingus Rams’ only other eighth-grader, shortstop Olivia Gordon.
But the Cowboys weren’t done, as eighth-grader Hailey Moore would score her second run to start the CVMS rally, followed soon after by all-tournament selections Cassie Casillas and Jenna Huey, both seventh-graders.
“A couple mental errors came into play on both sides,” Rosenberg said. “Both teams’ coaches know what those were. That’s part of the game.”
A double by all-tournament selection Jordyn Cowsert scored fellow eighth-grader Amanda Lozanilla, bringing the Cowboys within a run in the third.
“They played a tough game,” Rosenberg said of the second-seeded Cowboys. “I can’t say enough about how well they played.”
But Rosenberg’s daughter, Haley, a seventh-grade infielder named to the all-tournament team, got on to lead off the bottom of the inning and would score the first of three runs, coming home again in the fifth inning to put the game away.
“A lot of our players are repeat players that worked extremely hard,” Rosenberg said. “These sixth- and seventh-graders we’ve got coming in next year, it’s going to be a tough season again.”
