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Senior Tara Lorona, a Gateway Community College commit, broke a scoreless game with a sixth-inning homerun to lead the top-ranked Lady Bearcats to a 1 – 0 victory against the visiting Pantherettes last Wednesday.
The game was the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams with the potential for a third in the playoffs, where both figure to be contenders for a state title in May.
Lorona’s blast was one of only two Lady Cats’ hits in the game but it was enough with senior Daniella Hinojos on the mound. Ray’s ace tossed a three-hit, complete-game shutout to pick up her fifth-straight win of the season. She fanned eight and issued only one walk.
Superior senior Korinna Romero matched Hinojos nearly pitch for pitch. In her longest outing of the season, Romero surrendered only two hits while striking out six Ray hitters without issuing a walk.
Seniors Lindsay Ketron and Marisa Estatico accounted for two of the Pantherettes’ three hits. Sophomore McKenna Duarte had the other.
Superior up next: Mar. 28 at Bagdad (5 p.m.), Mar. 29 vs. Valley Union (3:15 p.m.), and Apr. 2 at Duncan (4 p.m.).
Ray up next: Mar. 27 at San Tan Foothills (6 p.m.), Mar. 29 vs. Duncan (4 p.m.), and Apr. 2 at Ft. Thomas (4 p.m.).
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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