By Frank Smith
The San Manuel Lady Miners varsity softball team continues to roll over their opponents with wins against Ray and Tombstone last week. With the wins, the Lady Miners move to an overall record of 19 – 8 (including the tournaments) and 11 – 3 in the section with two losses to Empire and one to Hayden.
San Manuel is holding steady with a #7 Power Ranking in the state’s power point system.
On April 11 at Ray, San Manuel took on the Lady Bearcats, picking up an 8 – 3 win.
In the circle for San Manuel was Lyana Waddell with Mariah McBride catching. Waddell faced 10 batters in two innings allowing one run on two hits, collecting four strikeouts and walking two batters.
Waddell stayed in the circle but Felicia Medina came in to catch. Waddell then faced 19 batters in five innings – allowing two runs on two hits, striking out six and walking three batters.
At the plate, Mireya Tamayo went 1 for 3 with a single, a walk, and a sacrifice; Nicole Encinas went 1 for 5 with a single and a stolen base; Felicia Medina went 2 for 4 with a single, a double and one RBI; Mackenzie Vindiola went 1 for 3 with a single and two RBIs; Felicia Gomez went 2 for 3 with singles, an RBI and a stolen base; Angelica Zuniga went 2 for 4 with singles and Lyana Waddell went 1 for 4 with a single and one RBI.
“We didn’t hit as well as I would like to hit in key situations,” said head coach Deanne Brewer. “We ended up with 10 hits, but we left 10 runners on base. We struggled a little with our short game, so we are really going to focus on that. We might need it at the end of the season and we have to be able to execute.”
The Lady Miners then hosted the Lady Jackets from Tombstone on April 12, with San Manuel shutting them down 13 – 2 early in five innings.
In the circle was Waddell with Medina catching, where she picked up the win and is now 13 – 6 on the season.
At the plate, Tamayo went 3 for 4 with three singles and two RBIs; Alyssa Cuellar went 1 for 3 with a triple, a walk and two RBIs; Medina went 2 for 3 with a single, a triple and three RBIs; Zuniga went 2 for 3 with two singles and three RBIs; Waddell went 2 for 3 with two singles and Analisa Estrada went 1 for 1 with a single, two walks, and two RBIs.
San Manuel headed over to Oro Valley on Tuesday to take on the Lady Lions from Pusch Ridge and will return home to host the Lady Vandals from Miami on Friday with the first pitch at 4 p.m.