Bodnar’s power lifts Green Valley
Green Valley coach Lauren Taylor is happy to have Ali Bodnar on her softball team, because she does whatever it takes for her team to win.
Bodnar isn't intimidating by size, at just 5 feet 6 inches and a little heavier than 110 pounds.
But Tuesday at the Fred Davison Memorial Tournament, Bodnar's bat did the biggest damage for the Gators.
Bodnar homered, tripled and drove in six runs as Green Valley beat Coronado 11-2 at West Flamingo Park.
Green Valley moved into the semifinal round of the Bronze Bracket against Hilltop (Calif.) at 9 a.m. today. Coronado will meet Clark in a consolation game at 11 a.m.
"Ali is just awesome," Taylor said. "She gives it 100 percent every time she's on the field. No matter where you play her, she can do the job."
Coronado jumped on the board with two runs in the first inning. But Green Valley roared back with four runs in the first and four more in the second. Bodnar's three-run triple in the second gave the Gators a 8-2 lead.
In the fourth, Bodnar slammed a three-run homer.
"We didn't know what to expect, because Coronado has been upsetting people," Taylor said. "We hit the ball very well today."
Katie Stewart picked up the win for the Gators, allowing just a Sarah Detwiler single after the opening inning.
Green Valley got 11 hits off Coronado starter Kim Makiri. Annamarie Smith and Carly Smith each had two hits for the Gators.
Also in the Bronze Bracket:
• Hilltop (Calif.) 12, Clark 4 -- Shannon Chapman went 3-for-3, but the Chargers allowed 10 runs in the final three innings.
In the Silver Bracket:
• El Capitan (Calif.) 6, Sierra Vista 2 -- Sierra Vista managed one hit in the first four innings and fell behind 6-0. Ashley Krumme was 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Lions.
In the Copper Bracket:
• Cimarron-Memorial 6, Faith Lutheran 5 -- Paige Savage's fielder's-choice grounder to second brought Felicia Valdez home with the winning run as Cimarron moved into the bracket semifinals.
Valdez singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning and moved to second on a wild pitch. Starlyn Thomas' bunt single pushed Valdez to third before Savage delivered. The game was called after six innings due to a time limit.
Valdez was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
• Mar Vista (Calif.) 6, Valley 1 -- LaShanda Martinez's home run was one of Valley's two hits.
In pool play:
• Sierra Vista 15, Ramona (Calif.) 10 -- Brittany Cram's three-run triple with two outs in the seventh inning lifted the Lions to the win. Sierra Vista scored five runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.
• Mount Miguel (Calif.) 3, Cimarron-Memorial 1 -- Starlyn Thomas had two of Cimarron's three hits in the game.
• Southwest (Calif.) 16, Clark 6 -- Jordyn McDonald went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Clark, which never recovered from a 11-1 deficit after three innings.
• Coronado 10, La Jolla (Calif.) 3 -- Kelsie Fahr was 2-for-3 with three RBIs for Coronado.
• Otay Ranch (Calif.) 5, Faith Lutheran 2 -- Otay Ranch scored four first-inning runs and held off the Crusaders.
• Point Loma (Calif.) 7, Green Valley 2 -- Point Loma's six-run third inning was too much for the Gators, who got a home run and a triple from Ali Bodnar.
• El Capitan (Calif.) 11, Valley 3 -- El Capitan scored nine runs in the fourth inning.
OTHER GAMES
• Pahrump Valley 11, Bonanza 2 -- At Bonanza, Ashleah Barney threw a no-hitter to lead the Trojans over the Bengals.
Christine Gamble homered for Pahrump Valley, which scored all 11 runs in the first three innings. Sam Snyder came on to pitch in the fourth for the Bengals and struck out eight in four innings.
The teams combined to commit 12 errors.
