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By Andrew Luberda
The Jr. Panthers squared off against Mountain Vista Jr. High in a battle for second place. It was a back-and-forth contest before Mountain Vista pulled out the victory with some late inning heroics, 10 – 9.
Jr. Panthers’ head coach Joseph Lopez said last week that his team’s defense was improving but it remained a concern. Unfortunately, in this game, the Jr. Panthers defense was not at its best and it cost them a victory.
After Mountain Vista jumped out to a 7 – 2 lead, the Jr. Panthers stormed back to grab a 9 – 7 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. Mountain Vista took advantage of three errors by the Jr. Panthers and scored three runs to win the game.
After the game, Coach Lopez spoke about the heartbreaking loss.
“The girls didn’t play their best at the start, but they showed a lot of heart to come back and take the lead,” he said.
Elizabeth Ochoa and Analyses Juarez starred for the Jr. Panthers offense.
The Jr. Panthers close out their regular season versus San Manuel on Apr. 17. The loss against Mountain Vista Jr. High means the Jr. Panthers will not have a bye in the first round of the playoffs that will start on Apr. 24, 2013, with Superior hosting the game. The opponent is to be determined.
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