Before Mingus Union High School head softball coach John Brown could substitute his starters for their nine backups Tuesday, March 25 — or perhaps even blink — it was over.
Freshman Krista Earl only needed three innings to throw a complete-game shutout, striking out two, walking two and allowing just three hits as MUHS dismantled Kingman High School, 21-0.
“After three innings, they opted out before we could change out our subs,” Brown said. “In three innings, we went through our lineup three times.
“The pitcher from Kingman is a really good pitcher, not bad. But they were down to the point that they couldn’t get us out. I’m fairly certain every girl in our lineup had a hit.”
Co-captain Taylor Bailey doubled three times in her three at-bats, batting in four runs, while fellow senior infielder Amber Rippy had four RBIs on a single, double and triple in four at-bats to help the Marauders take out on Kingman the frustration of their past five losses, ones in which MUHS was outscored by a total of 47-4.
“It’s hard not to get down on yourselves, but when you look back on those games, you realize you’re playing teams you’re not normally going to play,” Brown said. “This was a totally different team
[March 25]. They played hard no matter what the score was.”
Senior outfielder, co-captain and leadoff hitter Kaitlynn Lewis added an RBI, hitting three singles and reaching base on a Kingman error in her four at-bats for the Marauders, while junior Sarah Ortiz followed up Rippy’s triple with a two-run homer to cap a three-for-four day of her own.
“They have a big wall behind the center field fence,” Brown said, “and she hit three-quarters of the way up it. Keep hitting like that and they’ll have a good season.”
To add to the virtually perfect day for the Marauders, they stole three bases.
“I’m a pretty aggressive baserunning coach,” Brown said. “I like to run.”
To top it off, their defense, led by senior Celina Morones at second base and junior shortstop Randi Moffitt, had no errors and, in Brown’s description, was “flawless.”
“There’s nothing I can say they really didn’t do well,” he said. “There’s nothing I can say they needed to work on.”
Senior right-handed pitcher and co-captain Kaetana Skornik looks to get the start Friday, March 28, at Flagstaff High School as the Marauders attempt to avenge a 7-0 shutout loss to the Eagles on March 15 — though Brown hopes neither that score nor the Eagles will be on his players’ minds.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, March 26, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
