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San Manuel Miners
The San Manuel softball team exploded for 33 runs in its one-sided, combined no-hitter win at St. Augustine last Tuesday.
The Lady Miners, who have won six of their last seven games, are now 8 – 7 on the season and are looking like the playoff team many expected them to be at the start of the season.
San Manuel pounded out 29 hits, including 10 extra-base hits, in the victory.
Six different players had at least three hits, including senior Dionne Ruiz who had four hits – one of them a homerun – and a team-high seven RBI in the win. Junior Nikki Baldenegro homered for one of her three hits. She also drove in three runs. Freshman Selena Cruz hit a pair of doubles, a triple and had five RBI. Cassandra Guerrero, Alicia Sierra and Daniela Guerrero, who drove in three runs, also had three hits apiece.
Nikki Baldenegro and Taya Dockum, a sophomore, threw a combined no-hitter against the Wolves. The duo pitched five innings with each fanning six Wolves’ batters. Neither allowed a walk.
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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