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San Manuel Miners
The fourth-ranked San Manuel softball teams defeated No. 23 Amphitheater and No. 18 Pusch Ridge last week, two teams that are in position to secure spots in the upcoming state playoffs.
Junior Dionne Ruiz had four hits in as many at bats and drove in two runs in the Lady Miners’ 10 – 6 win at Pusch Ridge last Friday.
Ruiz’ hits were just four of the Lady Miners’ 18-hit attack against the Lions. Briana Galarza, a freshman, had three hits while Lyana Waddell, Nikki Baldenegro, Angela Navarro, and Natalia Ortega each had two hits in the win.
Waddell, the Lady Miners’ ace and arguably one of the top hurlers in the state, earned her 14th win of the season after pitching a complete game. She did not allow an earned run on seven hits and did not allow a walk. She struck out 10 Lady Lions’ batters.
Upcoming schedule: Apr. 26 vs. Tanque Verde and Apr. 27 vs. Santa Rita (regular season finale and Senior Day). Both games are scheduled for 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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