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Ryann Holmes had three hits and drove in six runs to lead the Bulldogs’ softball team to a 12 – 4 victory at Gilbert on Tuesday. Four of the senior shortstop’s six RBI came on one swing in the fourth inning when she crushed a two-out, two-ball-no-strikes pitch that landed beyond the right-center field wall.
“I was thinking I needed to get a base hit,” Holmes said about the game-changing at-bat. “I didn’t (want) to let my team down because they did so much work getting all the runners on base. I just needed to do my job and get a hit so we could keep scoring.”
Holmes, a Phoenix College commit, also hit two doubles, including her second of the game in the third inning that drove in Taryn Simmons with the Bulldogs’ first run. The Bulldogs’ blew the game open with a five-run fourth inning, which started on singles from Maci Richardson and Alex Lawson. Junior catcher Kirstin Denning reached on an error before Simmons drew an RBI walk just ahead of Holmes’ grand slam.
“Our hitting today was amazing,” Queen Creek head coach Stephanie Mejia said after the game. “Ryann’s home run was beautiful.”
The six runs scored at that point were more than enough for starting pitcher Julia Heitz, who earned the complete-game win. The right-handed throwing sophomore was perfect through three innings – nine up, nine down – before Gilbert sophomore Mack Peterson tripled leading off the bottom of the fourth. She later scored the Tigers’ first run of the game.
Heitz allowed only one run through six innings before surrendering a meaningless two-out bases-clearing double to Sophia Cordova that plated three runs in the last half of the seventh.
Queen Creek pitcher Julia Heitz fanned five Gilbert hitters during the first three innings of Tuesday’s game.
“Throwing first-pitch strikes,” Mejia answered when asked what they key was to Heitz’ success against the Tigers. “Throwing first-pitch strikes is really big and being ahead in the count. She’s a kid who has a lot of confidence when she’s in that circle.”
Heitz’ final pitching line: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, and 9 K. The win was her second of the season.
“I’m glad to have them back there,” Heitz said of the defense, which was nearly flawless behind her. “And it’s always nice to go out in the last inning knowing that I (have a big lead).”
The Bulldogs tacked on six more runs – three in each of the fifth and seventh innings. Kirstin Denning’s two-RBI double was the big hit in the fifth and she later scored in the seventh after a leading off the inning with a single and stealing a base.
After playing inconsistently during their first 10 games of the season, the young Bulldogs played perhaps their most efficient and complete game of the year against the Tigers.
“It was awesome, it was a lot better,” Mejia said about her team’s performance. “We were slumping here for a little bit in the beginning and then (Tuesday) we had a clean slate, we figured it out – no more errors – and we played clean. When we’re clean, we’re a fun team to watch.”
The Bulldogs’ roster includes seven underclassmen, including five freshmen, and only four seniors. With just over a third of the season completed, Mejia is hoping her team can build on Tuesday’s win and play that way more consistently, especially during the upcoming Desert Mountain Invitational Tournament. A number of the state’s best teams compete in the annual four-day tournament, which starts on Mar. 16.
“The freshmen are really aggressive and they have no fear,” Mejia said. “We just have to believe that we’re good enough. It’s a whole team thing and when we play together as a team, we’re going to go far.”
Upcoming schedule: Mar. 16 vs. Horizon (1 p.m.), Mar. 16 vs. Basha (5 p.m.), Mar. 17 vs. Chaparral (11 a.m.), and Mar. 17 vs. Ironwood Ridge (5 p.m.). All games will be played at Horizon Park in Scottsdale.
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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