SPRING JAMBOREE: Rancho sees bright side of mistake-filled softball loss

Rancho’s softball team won its opening game in the Spring Jamboree on Thursday at Majestic Park.

The Rams might benefit far more in the long run from their loss in their second game.

After looking sharp in a 10-5 victory over Maranatha (Calif.), the Rams endured a horrendous second inning and fell behind 7-0 to Sylmar (Calif.), rallied to tie and finally suffered a 9-7 defeat.

“You learn more from this one,” Rancho coach Michelle Van Buren said. “It show perseverance when you’re down 7-0 and you have to come back and tie it.”

Sylmar scored seven runs on only four hits in the second inning, taking advantage of a litany of Rancho mistakes.

The Rams walked three batters, threw four wild pitches — one that scored a runner from second — had two passed balls and mistakenly threw home on a ground ball with two outs that extended the inning. Eleven batters and 44 pitches into the innings, it was 7-0.

“In tournaments, you have to make the mistakes to get better,” Van Buren said.

In past years, Rancho might have folded after an inning like that, but the Rams quickly responded. They answered with four runs in the third inning and two more on Amber Marlett’s home run off the top of the scoreboard in the fourth.

“They’ve put in a lot of hard work, and it shows,” Van Buren said. “They didn’t quit.”

Tiffany Smith’s two-out RBI single in the fifth scored Viviana Trujillo with the tying run, and the Rams appeared to be on their way to a remarkable win, but they left a runner at third in the fifth and stranded three in the sixth.

Sylmar took advantage of a Rancho error in the bottom of the sixth to score twice and held on for the win.

The Rams, who hold a two-game lead over Las Vegas and Valley in the Northeast League, appear to be a lock to qualify for the Sunrise Region playoffs, and they should benefit from playing in a close game against better competition.

Rancho 10, Maranatha (Calif.) 5 –

 The Rams scored three runs without a hit in the first inning and tacked on five more in the fourth to pull away from Maranatha.

Felicia Webb went 2-for-3, and Jomel Rayos was 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs for Rancho.

Palo Verde 5, Winslow (Ariz.) 3 – Breanna Beatty was 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored as the Panthers held off the Bulldogs.

Melissa Lacro went 2-for-3 with a run for Palo Verde.

El Camino Real (Calif.) 3, Palo Verde 1 — Emily Waterbury’s two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning provided the margin of victory for the Conquistadors.

Salina Gonzalez went 2-for-2, and Angel Council was 1-for-3 with a double and a run for Palo Verde.

Cheyenne 13, Jordan (Calif.) 5 — Melanie Manley and Vanessa Sanders’ hit back-to-back home runs to start a nine-run sixth inning as the Desert Shields rallied past the Panthers.

Manley’s homer was a two-run shot, giving the Desert Shields the lead for good. She finished 4-for-5 with a double.

Sanders, who also tripled, was 2-for-4.

Lindsey Galindo and Megan Ingram each went 3-for-4, and Taylor Perez was 2-for-4 for Cheyenne.

Bell (Calif.) 19, Cheyenne 12 — The Eagles built a 14-6 lead in the third inning, and took advantage of the Desert Shields’ nine errors in the win.

Ranchel Holly, Kaitlin Staley and Galindo each had three hits, and Ingram added two hits for Cheyenne.

San Benito (Calif.) 9, Centennial 0 — Jessica Steigelman slugged two of the Balers’ three home runs in the game, and two San Benito pitchers limited the Bulldogs to three hits.

Heather Bowen was 2-for-3 for Centennial.

Edison (Calif.) 6, Centennial 0 — Ally Hecht tossed a two-hitter and struck out 14 as the Chargers overwhelmed the Bulldogs.

Taylor Huntly’s leadoff single in the second and Alyssa Finger’s two-out single in the fifth accounted for Centennial’s only base runners.

San Fernando (Calif.) 5, Pahrump Valley 4 — The Trojans’ rally from a 5-0 deficit in the third inning came up short.

Taylor Burby was 3-for-3 with a double, and Miranda Monje went 2-for-4 with a run for Pahrump.

Schurr (Calif.) 24, Pahrump Valley 5 — Schurr took advantage of the Trojans’ 11 errors and posted a pair of nine-run frames on its way to a five-inning win.

Sara Williams was 2-for-2 with a home run, and Petra Beighley went 2-for-3 with two doubles for Pahrump. Casey Sierra was 2-for-2 with a double for the Trojans.