Dirty job, but Sweeney gets it done
Palo Verde’s Kelsea Sweeney (22) pitches the ball in their softball game against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s Makall Whetten (1) makes a diving catch in the second inning in their softball game against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s players cheer their teammate on bat in their softball game against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s Dejanae Gage (2) throws the ball after making a catch to end the inning in their softball game against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s Grace Chavez (25) makes contact with the ball in their softball game against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Rancho’s Katerina Anthony (27) is short for a catch in center field in their softball game against Palo Verde at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Rancho’s Tiare Lee (22) smiles as she runs to first base after a walk in their softball game against Palo Verde at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s Dejanae Gage (2) throws the ball to first base for an out against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s Dejanae Gage (2) runs safe to first base after bunting the ball against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Rancho’s (1) McKinzi Vega throws a late pass to first base for a Palo Verde hit in their softball game at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s Dejanae Gage (2) slides safe to second base against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s McKenzie Ryan (6) swings for a hit against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Palo Verde’s McKenzie Ryan (6) slides safe to second base against Rancho at Rancho High School in Las Vegas Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Palo Verde won 10-0. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Kelsea Sweeney never looked completely comfortable in the pitcher’s circle Tuesday. The Palo Verde senior kicked the dirt after almost every pitch, trying anything she could to fill in a hole in her landing spot.
Even uncomfortable, Sweeney still was dominant, tossing a six-inning one-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lift the Panthers to a 10-0 win at Rancho.
“The mound just had a weird hole in it, and I kept landing in it,” said Sweeney, a first-team all-state pitcher last year. “I was trying to just push through that. It was a weird circumstance, and it was rough out there. The dirt was a little squishy. Every time I landed, the dirt would fall out from under my feet and my leg would give out a little bit.”
Sweeney walked two but allowed only one runner past first base. Rancho (11-1) hit only three balls out of the infield.
“She definitely worked through something she couldn’t control,” Palo Verde coach Kelly Glass said. “She did the best she could, and it was phenomenal.”
Pitchers depend on a consistent landing area for their lead foot. The slightest difference can throw off the motion and release point and cause control problems.
“I had to shorten my stride, and when you shorten your stride, the ball tends to get higher, so I had to focus on my release point to keep the ball down,” Sweeney said. “It was difficult.”
Sweeney’s teammates made sure she would have little to worry about, staking her to a 3-0 lead before she threw a pitch.
A bunt single, a misplayed grounder and a single off the third baseman’s glove loaded the bases with one out in the first inning for Grace Chavez, who drilled a three-run double to left center on an 0-2 pitch.
Chavez, a freshman who began the season on the bench but was the No. 5 hitter for the Panthers (8-2) on Tuesday, went 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
“She’s having fun and is relaxed,” Glass said. “Her swing was just beautiful. Everything we talk about to do hitting-wise, she did.”
The Nos. 2-5 hitters in the Panthers’ lineup — Dejanae Gage, Mackenzie McBride, Kali Tomlinson and Chavez — were a combined 10-for-13 against Rancho’s Samantha Pochop, also a first-team all-state pitcher last season.
Tomlinson was 2-for-2 with three RBIs, and McBride went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs.
“We’ve just been working on putting pressure on our opponents’ defense and capitalizing on people’s mistakes, situational hitting, short game, the little things that some people forget about,” Glass said. “It’s not just going up and hitting the ball.”
Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com at 702-387-5230.
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