Valencia softball finished their week strong with a pair of decisive wins against Capital and La Cueva.
“We’re better right now than I thought we would be,” said Valencia head coach Jeff Young. “I’m proud of the kids. I just hope we keep getting better.”
The Lady Jags (11-10, 3-0) forced the mercy rule in a 12-2 win over the visiting Capital High School.
Valencia had somewhat of a slow start offensively. However, their defense made an early statement. Junior Julie Logan tallied six strikeouts before the fourth inning, forcing Capital to bunt just to get their first runners on base.
Capital took advantage of those runners home, but those two runs would be the only runs Logan and the Lady Jags would allow in the ballgame.
The Lady Jags found their rhythm at the bottom of the fourth inning. A pair of 2-RBI singles from senior Kimberly Logan and freshman Miranda Garcia gave the Lady Jags a strong 8-2 lead heading into the fifth.
“We’re maturing (with batting),” said Young. “We get frustrated a little bit, and I get that, but we’re getting better.”
The sixth inning was also a showcased a strong batting performance from Valencia. Junior Amber Lindgren hit a 3-run triple to give the Lady Jags a 11-2 lead. Senior Janessa Otero would eventually score the team’s 12th and final run of the night.
Julie Logan threw 15 strikeouts on the night. Seniors Kimberly Logan and Ashley Sutton both went 3-for-4 at bat, with Kimberly Logan knocking in two RBIs.
On Friday evening, the Lady Jags traveled to La Cueva and won 20-8.
Valencia’s next game will be when they host district rivals Los Lunas (14-7, 3-0) at 6 p.m., Tuesday. The winner of that game will sit atop District 5-4A standings.
“It’s a big game,” Young said of the Los Lunas game. “I hope our kids are up for the challenge.”
