Chargers claim pitchers’ duel

Sydney Staresinich sat and watched 12 of her teammates strike out Tuesday.

The Clark freshman came off the bench for her lone at-bat in the eighth inning and showed everyone just what to do at the plate.

Staresinich delivered a game-winning, pinch-hit double in the bottom of the eighth as Clark nipped Palo Verde 3-2 in a Sunset Region tournament first-round game at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park.

The Chargers (22-9) advance to play Durango (21-9) in a winners' bracket semifinal at 7 tonight.

"It was scary, a lot of pressure," Staresinich said. "But I just went up there and did what I was taught to do."

Taylor Holyoak led off the bottom of the eighth with a single up the middle.

Autumn Gatesman's bunt single moved courtesy runner Alicia Valdovinos to second base with no outs.

In what normally might be a bunt situation, Clark coach Andrea Leavitt instead had Staresinich swing away.

"I needed someone who could get a hit, and I knew she could," Leavitt said. "We didn't have any outs. There was nothing to lose."

The move paid off as Staresinich laced a 2-2 pitch down the left-field line.

The hit ended a fabulous pitchers' duel between Clark senior Jordyn McDonald and Palo Verde freshman Missy McCormick.

McDonald struck out 16 while allowing only six hits and a walk. McDonald raised her strikeout total for the season to 339.

McCormick had 12 strikeouts, including one with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning.

The Panthers (16-12) bunched three two-out hits in the top of the fourth to take a 2-0 lead. Amanda Montalto and Alicia Perry each had an RBI single.

Clark responded with two runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Elisa Dawson and McDonald.

• Durango 3, Centennial 2 -- Durango freshman Nicole Schultz drove in the go-ahead run with a one-out single in the third inning, and the Trailblazers survived two late Bulldogs threats.

Centennial (27-8) stranded runners at second and third in the sixth and left the bases loaded in the seventh.

Durango pitcher Nicole Herrera got a force-out to end the game.

• Shadow Ridge 11, Spring Valley 1 -- Mandy Harmon tossed a five-inning one-hitter and went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs to lead the Mustangs (21-1) past the Grizzlies (10-10).

Ashley Eldridge was 3-for-3 with two doubles and four RBIs for Shadow Ridge, which will meet Cimarron-Memorial (20-14) at 7 tonight.

Rae-Ann Bohm went 3-for-4 with a solo homer for the Mustangs.

• Cimarron-Memorial 5, Sierra Vista 1 -- Freshman pitcher Carrie Sheehan tossed a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts and ripped two doubles to lead the Spartans past the Lions (18-14).

Chelsea Williams added two hits for the Spartans, who scored three runs without hitting the ball out of the infield in the second inning.

SUNRISE REGION

• Las Vegas 8, Liberty 4 -- Chelsea Lewis went 4-for-4 with a double to help the Wildcats down the Patriots at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park.

The win lifted Las Vegas into the winners bracket, where it will play Green Valley at 7 p.m. today.

"It was really a whole team effort," Lewis said. "We needed to execute, and we did a good job on our short ball. We also had some clutch hits."

The Wildcats (18-6) jumped to a 2-0 lead by scoring in the first and second innings, but the Patriots kept it close with a run in the fourth.

Las Vegas finally broke the game open by sending 10 hitters to the plate in the sixth, capping the inning with a two-run double by Jennifer Gliddon.

"You can't predict what they're going to do," Wildcats coach Tresa Schilder said. "But these girls have a tendency to step up when the time is right."

Brianna Guzman went 3-for-5 to help Las Vegas.

Liberty (22-13) rallied in the top of the seventh. Three singles and two walks cut the deficit to 8-4, and the Patriots had the bases loaded when Las Vegas recorded the final out.

• Silverado 11, Eldorado 1 -- Amanda Buchholz went 3-for-3 with a double to help the Skyhawks (21-4) cruise to a five-inning win.

Emily Galante went 2-for-4 to help Silverado, which posted an eight-run first inning. Katie Devlin struck out nine and held Eldorado (8-9) to two hits.

The Skyhawks will take on Foothill at 5 p.m. today.

• Green Valley 4, Valley 1 -- The Gators (21-8) scored all of their runs in the first two innings, then hung on to beat the Vikings.

Jasmine Byndloss went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead Green Valley, and Razia Ali struck out 10 while tossing a three-hitter.

The Vikings (17-15) will play Liberty in an elimination game at 5 p.m. today.

• Foothill 12, Rancho 2 -- Shelbie Medrano went 3-for-4 to lift the Falcons (19-21) to a five-inning victory.

Medrano pitched a one-hitter for Foothill, and Amber Stater had a three-run homer in the sixth inning to seal the win.

The Rams (16-17) will face Eldorado in an elimination game at 3 p.m. today.