Hit parade: Lady Cardinals belt six homers in win over Red Mesa

FORT DEFIANCE

The St. Michael softball team belted six homers on Wednesday afternoon as the Lady Cardinals run-ruled Red Mesa 17-6 in a freedom game.

The fifth-ranked Cardinals improved to 15-6 overall as they will close out the regular season at No. 4 Williams (11-4) on Friday in a crucial 1A North contest at 3 p.m.

Williams leads the four-team region with a 1-0 record while St. Michael and top-ranked Joseph City (16-9) both have identical 1-1 records in league play.

“If we can win on Friday that will put us higher in the rankings, and that will get us a better spot in the state brackets,” St. Michael coach Julianne Billiman said.

In Wednesday’s game, St. Michael went with backup pitcher Chanelle Hale in the circle as Red Mesa opened a 2-0 lead in the top of the first behind three hit pitches, a walk, and a passed ball.

Hale pitched three innings and gave up six runs on two hits and four strikeouts before St. Michael senior ace Denae Livingston took over as the right-handed pitcher did not give up a run.

“Usually, with teams like this I try to play Chanelle so that we can work on our defense,” Billiman said. “Obviously, today’s game showed that we have to work on our defense a little bit more because when we meet tougher teams, with Denae pitching, our defense has to be on point to get outs and keep the score down.”

After trailing 2-0, the Cardinals finally got on board in the second when Livingston belted her first of four homers at the Office of Diné Youth softball field in Fort Defiance.

“I work a lot at home, you know, with my batting,” Livingston said. “Yeah, it’s a lot of what I do at home, practicing off the tee, and off the pitching machine.”

Livingston, who batted fourth in the lineup, went 5-of-5 at the plate with a single and four home runs and 5 RBIs.

The Cardinals also had Hale finish with three hits as she added a pair of doubles and a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth. St. Michael’s last homer came from senior third baseman Sariah Lopez as she hit her solo in the third frame.

“Once we gained the momentum that is when our bats started to come around,” Billison said of their offensive prowess.

With the 1A state playoffs around the corner, Billison is hoping the Cardinals can earn one of the top 8 seeds so that they can host a first-round game.

“That’s why that Williams game is super important because it’ll cement us as one of the top 8 teams,” she said. “In past years, we always had to travel, and it would be awesome if we can get that first round game at home.”

Red Mesa assistant coach Cara Begay said her club had a strong start but once St. Michael switched its pitchers the complexion of the game favored the Cardinals.

“That was definitely a big change,” Begay said of Livingston’s velocity. “Our girls are not used to that type of speed with the teams that we played this year.”

With the loss, Red Mesa finished the year at 4-4 under an independent schedule.

“Last school year, we didn’t have enough girls to field a team, so we dropped the program,” Red Mesa head coach Henrietta Haven said. “The AIA put us on an independent schedule this year and we were able to field a team this year, so next year we’ll be placed back in our region.”

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