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The Junior High Bearcats faced off against two teams from last year’s championships before the Spring Break. The first team to roll into town was the Blue Devils of Eloy.
The Blue Devils reloaded in the pitching department from last year and were ready for the rematch with the Bearcats. In what turned out to be a pitching duel, the only registered hit for both teams in this four inning matchup was a single by Tara Lorona in the second inning.
Great base running and an eye for the ball led to the Eloy pitcher yielding 15 walks and 5 strikeouts, en route to a 10-0 win for the Ray Bearcats.
Tara Lorona was 1-1 on the offensive side for the day. Daniella Hinojos (9K, 6W) took the mound and kept the Eloy batters hitless through 4 innings.
“Game ball went to the team,” said coach Dan Hinojos “Total team effort.”
The second game of the week took the Bearcats to the Globe Tigers. Being a rematch from last year’s Championship game, there was a little bit of excitement in the air from the Globe crowd.
The Ray Bearcats were first at bat. A Tara Lorona single and scored run led the charge in the first inning. The Tigers sent five batters to the plate with no runs scored. The second inning the Bearcats result was 3 up, 3 down. The Tigers second at bat yielded 2 runs from 6 batters.
In the third inning the Bearcats sent 4 batters to the plate resulting in no runs scored. The Tigers managed to score 2 more runs on some fielding miscues. With the top of the fourth inning at hand and the score 4-1, the Bearcats had some work to do. This inning, the offense woke up. A Daniella HInojos double, followed by a Shelby Yocum double and an RBI hit by Danielle Barajas brought life into the offense. The Tigers offense tried to keep up with the Bearcat offense but the Bearcat defense began to clamp down. At the end of 4 innings the score was now 4-3 Globe.
Trailing by one run and entering the top of the fifth inning, a single by Miranda Figueroa, a triple by Tara Lorona, and an RBI by Destiny Gonzales scored 2 runs for the Bearcats. With the score now 5-4 Bearcats, the Tigers were now trying to rally their offense in the bottom of the fifth inning. While sending 4 batters to the plate, no runs scored.
With the final at bat for the Bearcats at hand and looking to score some insurance runs, 3 runners were able to get on base only to see inexperienced base running lead to no runs scored. With the sixth and final at bat at hand for the Tigers, trailing by 1 run, the Globe offense gave it their best shot, but the Bearcats defenses was able to get a 3 up, 3 down. The final score was Bearcats 5, Tigers 4.
“This game was a great team effort to bounce back from 4-1 deficit and not allow another run to score in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings to seal the win,” the coach said.
On the offensive side of the game for the Bearcats, Tara Lorona (2-3, triple), Miranda Figueroa (1-2), Daniella Hinojos (1-3, double), Shelby Yocum (1-3, double), and Danielle Barajas (1-3). On the mound Daniella Hinojos (11K, 1W) led the defensive charge.
“Game ball went to the 4th and 5th inning batters,” the coach said, “game changers with their batting.”
The Jr. High Ladycats will host the Hayden Lobos today and the Superior Panthers on Monday. Both games are scheduled to start at 4pm. Come out and support the Ray Bearcats!
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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