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Sara Baldenegro hits the ball. Photo by Ashley Madrid
The sixth-ranked San Manuel softball team improved to 5 – 0 in 2A South-region games after a lopsided 20 – 1 home victory against San Carlos last Tuesday.
The Lady Miners scored at least four runs in each of the first four innings, leading to the rout.
Nikki Baldenegro was a single short of the cycle, hitting a double, triple and a homerun in addition to driving in five runs. Dionne Ruiz added two hits – both triples – and two RBI while Selena Cruz hit a double and had a pair of RBI in the win.
Baldenegro was again dominant from the circle, allowing only an unearned run on three hits with 13 strikeouts and no walks in the five-inning, complete-game victory. The win was the junior’s 12th of the season.
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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