Winslow eked out close win against Holbrook softball
WINSLOW
On Friday evening, Holbrook’s Lady Roadrunners traveled to face its longtime rival, the Winslow Lady Bulldogs, on their home turf. The game went into an extra-inning as both teams steadily chased one another, but ultimately Winslow walked away with the win 11-10.
Navajo Times | David Smith
A Winslow player takes a swing at a low flying ball against Holbrook. Both teams were well matched and the game went into an extra inning with Winslow coming out on top 11-10.
Winslow coach Megan Lymer believes the team has room for improvements but was happy with the win.
“We got off a little bit slow with our bats; we can’t have that with these kinds of region games,” Lymer said. “But overall, I was really proud of their fighting spirit. They didn’t give up at any point in time, and that’s what we want to see for these kinds of games.”
It was a breezy evening with storm clouds in the distance that brought a chill, but the players maintained their focus as the game commenced.
Mykenzie Flores started pitching for the Lady Bulldogs, getting her first of three strikeouts in the first inning. Lady Roadrunner Celina Leyba scored the first run of the game after being brought in by Tiffani Tyler.
Tyler was also the pitcher for Holbrook and stayed in through all eight innings. Despite the exertion, Tyler made six strikeouts throughout the game, including one during the seventh inning.
At the bottom of the second, the teams first tied 1-1 when Brinleigh Arredondo ran home for Winslow. Both teams had a hot streak in the third inning and tied 5-5.
During the fifth, freshman Tamryn Baldonado hit a home run, resulting in 2 RBI and putting the Lady Roadrunners ahead 8-5, earning great cheers from the Holbrook team and fans.
Brynlee Barris came in as a new pitcher for Winslow; her slow pitches caught Holbrook off guard and got her two strikeouts.
Winslow didn’t give up, though, and caught up 9-9 at the bottom of the sixth. Holbrook inched ahead with one score in the top of the seventh, seemingly to secure its win. But then Lady Bulldog Kristara Tso hit a homerun, earning cheers as the teams went into an extra-inning with 10-10.
The Lady Bulldogs defense was on alert in the final inning. It quickly tagged out the Holbrook runners, and then at the bottom of the eighth, Barris ended the game by bringing Jaylynn Sharp home and ended the game 11-10.
Holbrook coach Scott Baker is still proud of his team’s efforts despite the loss. They kept the pressure up and knew there were many highlights.
“We always know they’re tough,” Baker said. “We always know what to expect. And we really came out and put it all together through all three phases of the game, defense, pitching, and offense. We really did a good job.”
Despite their turbulent season, Baker is confident in the team getting better after years of training, especially as they constantly face quality teams and build off their successes.
For Winslow, Lymer said it was a good game; all the girls did what they needed to and maintained a close race with Holbrook. She commends the defense, especially in the left outfield where most of Holbrook’s hits flew. She also commends the Lady Roadrunners’ efforts, especially their strong batting, saying Holbrook always makes a good fight.
“These girls have not shown me an ounce of giving up,” Lymer said. “We’ve played a lot of hard games already this season. A lot of really close games, and that’s what we want to see.
“We want to see these hard games, and we want to know that we can mentally prepare for the postseason and try to get as far as we can this year,” she added.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow