Centennial tops Palo Verde, helped by lineup gaffe

Centennial softball coach Mike Livreri was waiting for the right time.

With two runners on base and the Bulldogs trailing by two in the bottom of the fourth inning Tuesday, Livreri couldn’t wait any longer.

“I had to pull it out,” he said.

Livreri caught host Palo Verde batting out of order to help end a potential threat, and the Bulldogs rallied with five runs in the top of the sixth to pull out an 8-3 victory.

Savannah Horvath went 2-for-3 with a two-run triple in the sixth inning, and Heather Bowen finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs as the Bulldogs (8-4) took the first of what could be several games this season between the favorites in the Sunset Region.

“We know we’ll see Palo down the line,” Livreri said. “We’re carrying some new players, too, so it’s a good early confidence boost.”

Palo Verde (7-2) owned a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth and appeared to have runners on first and second with no outs for cleanup hitter Breanna Beatty after singles by Rachel Williams and Brooke Stover. Instead, Livreri notified the umpires that the Panthers’ lineup card listed Beatty in the No. 3 spot in the batting order and Stover fourth.

“We were kind of saving it,” Livreri said. “It was brought to our attention after the first inning, and we used it when it came out of necessity.”

Beatty was called out before getting a chance to hit, and Williams was sent back to first base. Stover then popped up for the second out, and two batters later, Centennial starter Maddie Jones got Melissa Lacro to fly out to left field to end the inning.

“It was definitely a momentum shift,” Palo Verde coach Kelly Glass said. “I don’t think that’s a secret.”

The Bulldogs cut Palo Verde’s lead to 3-2 in the fifth on Bowen’s sacrifice fly and broke open the game in the sixth. Kara Simpson, Centennial’s No. 9 hitter, tied the game with a single to right before Sonja Lawrence’s run-scoring single put the Bulldogs on top 4-3.

Horvath capped the big inning with a triple off the base of the fence in straightaway center that made it 7-3.

“I felt like the run in the fifth inning got our focus, and we got back into the game,” Livreri said. “I never sensed any panic, and the bottom half of our order came through big.”

Bulldogs reliever Cheyenne Cudahy allowed one hit in three innings to claim the victory.

Williams was 3-for-4 for Palo Verde, which also got two hits a piece from Rachael Turner and Lauren Oxford. Beatty had a two-run double that put the Panthers up 2-1 in the first inning.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSchoenLVRJ.