13 West Valley View, Avondale, Arizona, Friday, March 2, 2012
Inside Sports: Lady Rough Riders win tennis opener; Millennium opens baseball season going 1-1-1; Estrella Foothills has designs on another state title. Results and schedules online.
Lady Knights capture tourney crown
by Mike Russo sports editor
Westview blasted Tolleson, 13-0, Feb. 25 to claim the championship of the Tolleson Union High School District Tournament.
The Lady Knights outscored their opponents 94-1 in going
6-0 in the tournament. Westview defeated Phoenix Sierra Linda, 16-0; La Joya, 16-0; Tolleson, 16-0; Glendale Copper Canyon, 22-0; and Copper Canyon again, 11-1, before the finale.
SOFTBALL
The championship game was halted in dramatic fashion by the mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth inning. Cecelia Bocanegra capped a seven-run uprising with a walk-off grand slam. “That was a great way to end it,” coach Damon Watson said. Bocanegra also singled in the game and
never relinquished. Seven runs in the third gave Westview a good cushion. Westview had only seven hits but made the most of the eight walks it received from a pair of Copper Canyon pitchers. Goddard had two hits, including a home run, and knocked in three runs. Andrus also had a pair of hits and two RBI. Freshman Ciera Esquivel was the winning
pitcher, hurling a three-inning no-hitter. She fanned three and walked none. “She did a fine job,” Watson said.
drove in a total of five runs in support of winning pitcher Mikaela Reed. Reed pitched her third no-hitter of the season in beating Tolleson. She went five innings, striking out six and walking three to improve to 3-0. “They never really threatened to score
off her,” Watson said. Westview totaled 13 hits, with
Bocanegra, Sianna Gomez, Kylie Andrus and Analicia Vega all getting two. Both of Andrus’ and Vega’s hits were doubles. Chelsie Goddard homered for the fourth time in the tournament and drove in three runs.
“They all hit,” Watson said. “We were hitting a lot of gapers for doubles.”
Reaching the finals Westview qualified for the championship game by defeating Copper, 11-1, in the Feb. 25 8 a.m. semifinal contest. The game was stopped after four innings by the mercy rule.
View file photo by Ray Thomas
The Lady Knights fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning of the semifinal, trailing for the only time during the tournament. “They scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning,” Watson said.
WESTVIEW FRESHMAN PITCHER Ciera Esquivel winds up to deliver a pitch to a Copper Canyon batter Feb. 23. Esquivel won two games, both no-hitters, in helping the Lady Knights win the championship of the Tolleson Union High School District Tournament.
“We just dropped the ball.” Westview’s offense, which had been in high gear throughout the tournament, was stuck in neutral early in the semifinal game.
“We seemed to have the early Saturday morning blues,” Watson said. A three-run outsburst in the top of the second gave Westview a 3-1 lead, which it
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Defeating Copper Canyon The Lady Knights wrapped up pool play with a 22-0 drubbing of Copper Canyon Feb. 23 in a game stopped after three innings because of the mercy rule. Esquivel earned the victory with a three-inning no-hitter. She struck out three and walked none. Gomez and Andrus each scored four runs and drove in two. Goddard led the Lady Knights with three RBI. Andrus and Goddard each had two hits. Watson was pleased to win the tournament, but he realizes the Lady Knights cannot become complacent after this achievement because tougher competition is on the horizon. “They were fine for this tournament,”
Watson said. “Knowing what the competition level was, they did fine. They didn’t play down to the level of the competition. “We will have a little reality check
next week. We play at [Phoenix] Trevor Browne Tuesday, at Millennium Thursday and at [Scottsdale] Chaparral Friday.” The competition gets even stiffer when the Lady Knights return from spring break and play eight games in six days, including five in the Deer Valley/Sandra Day O’Connor Tournament. The Lady Knights will play a trio of perennial powers the first two days of the tournament. They open at noon March 22 against Glendale Cactus and will take on Yuma Cibola at 3:30 p.m. that day. At 10:30 a.m. March 23, Westview will tangle with Peoria Sunrise Mountain. Westview was prepared for a tougher
test Thursday when it hosted Peoria Centennial. The result was unavailable at press time.
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