SOFTBALL: Sweeney guides Panthers’ great escape

Maybe Kelsea Sweeney should start every inning with the bases loaded.

The Palo Verde sophomore softball pitcher certainly was at her best with no wiggle room Saturday.

Sweeney entered the game in a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the sixth inning and again had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh. She emerged unscathed to lead the No. 2 Panthers to a 2-1 home win over No. 1 Centennial.

“I was confident that she was going to come in and get us out of that situation,” Palo Verde coach Kelly Glass said. “She threw like she knows how to throw. Her ball was moving very well.”

Sweeney relieved junior Rachel Williams with the bases loaded in the sixth after Centennial had just tied the game on Alyssa Finger’s RBI single.

Two strikeouts and a groundout later, the Panthers were batting again.

“I try not to psych myself out before I go in,” Sweeney said. “I just try my pitches and just do me, basically. I’m not thinking about what happens if I miss. I have the mentality that I’m going to throw something by you.”

After junior Brooke Stover’s RBI double gave Palo Verde (17-5) the lead in the bottom of the sixth, the Bulldogs started the seventh with consecutive infield hits and a one-out flair to right to again the load the bases.

Sweeney struck out Finger and Lacie Chakos to end the game. Sweeney faced five batters with the bases loaded in her two innings of work and struck out four.

Centennial (23-6) also left the bases full in the fifth inning when Williams struck out Heather Bowen to end the threat.

The Bulldogs’ Taylor Huntly pitched well, retiring the first 12 Panthers hitters before Breanna Beatty doubled to left to start the fifth. Huntly struck out Melissa Lacro, but the pitch landed in the dirt, and the throw to first hit Lacro, allowing Beatty to score.

Huntly allowed three hits and a walk, striking out six.

“She kept us guessing,” Glass said. “She was moving the ball and mixing her speeds well.”

Centennial was a 1-0 winner over Palo Verde on March 16. The teams are expected to compete for the Sunset Region title in three weeks.

“It’s always a very competitive game, and it makes both teams better,” Glass said. “My goal and my job is to make sure we’re peaking at the right time, and I think we’re doing that.”

Spring Valley 5, Desert Oasis 0 — At Spring Valley, Michaela Hood tossed a four-hitter with five strikeouts to lead the Grizzlies by the Diamondbacks.

Jina Miyamoto was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Ellie Endsley went 2-for-3 for Spring Valley.

Pahranagat Valley 14, Eureka 2 — At Eureka, Merinna Scott was 3-for-3 to help the Panthers defeat the Vandals.
Jamie Hansen was 2-for-4 with a home run, and every Pahranagat Valley starter had a hit.

Kennedy Huntsman threw a four-hitter to get the win.