The Los Lunas High School softball team got the monkey off its back, if there was one, when they pulled out a 4-3 win in eight innings in the second game of a doubleheader at Las Cruces Mayfield on Thursday.
Chacara Fleming singled up the middle to score pinch-runner Sabre Dureta for the winning run to give the Lady Tigers their first District 3-5A win since the district was created a year ago.
Los Lunas head coach Glenn Trujillo said the girls weren’t concerned with the district losing streak when they entered the contest.
“Every time we go out, I expect to win, and that’s what I tell the girls — expect to win,” he said. “We honestly feel the girls can play with anybody out there. It’s just a matter of putting together a complete game — try to eliminate the mistakes, and give yourself a chance to win. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win that second game, and we came through.”
Los Lunas had to come from behind to earn the win. Mayfield scored a run in the third inning to take the lead, but the Tigers tied it with a run in the fourth, Amanda Sanchez scoring on a Fleming base hit.
The Lady Trojans answered back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead. But Los Lunas knotted the game again. Sanchez and Alicia Garcia drove in the Tigers’ runs.
The score remained 3-3 and moved into extra innings. With one out in the eighth, Stephanie Perea doubled. Dureta came in to run the base paths for Perea. After another Los Lunas out, Fleming came through with a huge two-out single up the middle to give the Tigers the lead.
Ashley Herrera, who pitched both games for Los Lunas, shut down the Trojans in the bottom of the inning to earn the win. Herrera scattered eight hits to improve her record to 5-7.
Los Lunas collected 11 hits in the contest. Perea, Sanchez, Fleming and Naomi Cordova each went 2 for 4 at the plate for the Tigers. Garcia was 2 for 3.
“It was nice to get back on the winning track,” Trujillo said. “We’re in a tough district. It’s always tough to go on the road, so we’re happy with a split.”
Los Lunas (5-8 overall, 1-3 in district play) broke a six-game losing streak with the win. The Tigers dropped the first game of the DH, 9-0.
Last Saturday in Los Lunas, the Lady Tigers dropped both ends of a doubleheader with Las Cruces High to open the district season. The Bulldawgs won the first game 13-6, then held off the hosts, 5-4, in the nightcap.
The Lady Tigers will be on the road for two games next week. They play a single game At Anthony against Gadsden on Tuesday and a non-district contest at Rio Grande on Thursday.
LADY TIGER
Softball
450
April 18, 2024
