Foothill finds winning lineup against Silverado

Injuries and inconsistency forced Foothill softball coach Tom Mayes to juggle his batting order this season.

The veteran coach may have found the perfect combination Tuesday.

Alexis Farias and Sadie Christian, the Nos. 1 and 2 hitters in the lineup, combined to go 5-for-5 with seven runs and four RBIs in the first four trips through the order, and the Falcons pounded 19 hits in a 21-11, five-inning win at Silverado.

“We need to have someone who has been hitting well at the top of our lineup,” Mayes said. “Alexis, we moved up there because she’s been hitting the ball pretty well. Sadie is in there because of some of the injuries we’ve had.

“They’ve been doing what we asked them to do. We just have to get consistent down the line.”

The Falcons made progress in that respect Tuesday, as the entire lineup contributed on offense.

Every Foothill starter had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI, including seven with at least two hits.

Kaitlyn Enzweiler was 4-for-5 with four RBIs, and Farias went 3-for-4 with a double, three runs and four RBIs. Christian finished 2-for-2 with three sacrifices, four runs and three RBIs.

The Falcons (18-7, 10-4 Division I Sunrise) got home runs from Kylie Becker and No. 8 hitter Haleigh Olive.

“I hope it helps our confidence,” Mayes said. “We’re battling to get ourselves in a position to play at home in the playoffs. They have to start to realize that they’ve got to put things together. We can’t keep going up and down.”

Still, Mayes wasn’t pleased with his team’s focus.

The Falcons led 8-0 in the top of the second and gave up five runs in the bottom of the inning, then built a 21-6 lead going into the bottom of the fifth and nearly missed out on winning by the mercy rule.

Silverado (10-10, 6-7) scored five runs on three hits and two errors and had two runners in scoring position in the fifth when Sarah Penksa induced a groundout to end the game.

“That should never have happened,” Mayes said of allowing the late runs. “It’s hard to get everybody to stay focused when games get kind of lopsided, but that’s something we need to work on, our mental toughness.”

Alessandra Ponce was 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, and Sarah Ford was 2-for-3 with two doubles and three runs for Silverado.

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.