Gallup undefeated, wins Cleveland Classic

RIO RANCHO, N.M.

As the only team to go undefeated in the round-robin girls softball tournament, the Gallup softball team captured the inaugural Cleveland Classic on Saturday in Rio Rancho.

The Lady Bengals went 4-0 during the two-day tournament, scoring wins over West Las Vegas, Farmington, Valley and Atrisco Heritage Academy.

Gallup coach Ray Spencer said, “Again, we just take it one game at a time. We’re not looking on winning the tournament and if you look into that then it takes away everything we’re trying to build, so we just do things one game at a time and the main thing is teamwork.

“These girls have great chemistry,” he added. “They back each other up and they back up their pitchers.”

Gallup ace pitcher Seniah “SJ” Haines said winning the tournament has put them on the map, establishing them as one of the top teams in the state.

“I think it’s really big,” Haines said. “You know, a lot of Albuquerque teams have doubted us. They’ve looked below us since were from Gallup. I think we showed them what we can do.”

“We’re making a name for ourselves,” Gallup senior Taylor Morgan said. “Every single girl on this team works hard and it’s coming together. It’s starting to show.”

Gallup (7-6 overall) run-ruled West Las Vegas and Valley by 16-1 and 20-0 counts.

Against Farmington, the Bengals edged the Scorpions 2-1 and, to clinch the tournament, Gallup posted a 9-2 win over Atrisco Heritage late Saturday afternoon.

The Gallup team finished with 14 hits against Atrisco Heritage with freshman Brenna Becenti leading the way with three hits, going deep with a triple and a double.

“One through nine we hit the ball,” Spencer said. “The bottom lineup does their jobs and they, the top, brings them in, so I could rotate anybody in any position. The girls just hit well.”

The Bengals also got two hits each from Morgan Belone, Katherine Lincoln, Ciara Spencer, Chaylee Morgan and Haines.

As the designated visiting team, Gallup put across two runs in the opening frame with leadoff hitter Haines starting off with a hard single to left.

Becenti then followed with a run-scoring double and two batters later Morgan brought the freshman home.

Atrisco Heritage rallied as they tied the game in the third, getting a pair of two-out singles from Erikha Ibarra and Abrianna Chavez.

Senior Madalynn Valenzuela then followed with a two-run double before Gallup ended that rally with a ground out.

After a scoreless fourth, Gallup came alive in the fifth with six consecutive hits.

Haines, Becenti, and Spencer started the inning off with three doubles with Spencer’s hit scoring the two Gallup hitters.

The hit parade didn’t stop there as the Bengals got consecutive singles from Taylor Morgan and senior shortstop Alexis Tsosie-Hood to load the bases for first baseman Katherine Lincoln.

In her fifth offering, Lincoln pounced on a pitch by Atrisco Heritage sophomore Arielle Montoya for a stand-up double that scored Spencer and Morgan.

In that same sequence, the Gallup coach waved Tsosie-Hood home to clear the bases, but the umpire ruled her out as she crossed home plate.

Despite that call, the Bengals finished that inning with a four-run outburst.

Gallup added three more runs in the top of the seventh for its 9-2 win.

“We just focus on our mechanics,” Haines said of the team’s hitting prowess. “I think we’re really good on offense. We just hit the ball and we have a lot of good power hitters.”

And when they need to, Haines said, the Gallup team can play small ball too.

The Bengals used that approach to beat Farmington, 2-1, in its second game of the tournament.

“I think small ball really helped us to get on base,” Morgan said. “That’s what we had to, and we had to lay down the bunt.”

In that contest, Gallup finished with six hits against Farmington ace Rikki Wilkie, who struck out 14 batters.

“It’s good to see pitchers like that, especially with the movement she has,” Morgan said of Wilkie. “When we see that movement we have to learn how to adjust.”

Farmington took a 1-0 in the opening frame with Stephanie Waybenais making it home on an RBI double from freshman Amiah Declusin

The Bengals tied it up in the fifth, and then the Spencer-coached team scored the winning run in the seventh with third baseman Raeanna Chee scoring on a pop fly in right field from Tsosie-Hood.

“One finally got that extra hit to score that final run,” the Gallup coach said. “That was a tough game. Rikki Wilkie was just outstanding, and she really shut us down.

“She had 14 strikeouts, but we changed it up and we played the short game,” he added. “It helped for a bit, and it worked out.”

The Bengals would have played Farmington last night in a rematch. On Saturday, Gallup will play a doubleheader in Artesia against the defending 4A state champs.

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