Desert Oasis defeats Rancho in softball matchup of ranked teams
Jazmyne Compehos readily admits she’s not a strikeout pitcher.
The Desert Oasis junior didn’t need to be one Saturday.
Compehos induced 14 groundouts and tossed a two-hitter to help the eighth-ranked Diamondbacks knock off fourth-ranked Rancho 9-2 in the Mountain Lion/Blazer Classic at Durango.
“They call me a groundout pitcher,” said Compehos, who effectively changed speeds and kept the Rams off-balance. “My specialty is getting people to ground out. I just did my job. The confidence I had in myself and in my teammates helped us succeed.”
Rancho (21-2) hit only three balls out of the infield.
“We know she has the potential to do great things,” Desert Oasis softball coach Jordan Connell said. “When we can play good defense, it takes the pressure off our pitcher and allows her to just pitch her game. That’s what we did today.”
Compehos had a 2-0 lead after Holly Severance ripped a two-run double in the top of the first inning.
Compehos retired the Rams on seven pitches — three of them strikes, and all of those groundouts — in the bottom of the first.
“I was just trusting my defense,” Compehos said. “The more I can trust my defense, I feel more confident on the mound.”
Rancho’s Lili Gutierrez hit an opposite-field home run to right in the second to cut Desert Oasis’ lead to 2-1, but the Rams never got closer.
The Diamondbacks tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings and cashed in on three errors to score five in the seventh.
Desert Oasis (15-10) forced Rancho’s MacKenzie Perry to throw 129 pitches. Perry entered the game with a 1.66 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings, but allowed 12 hits to the Diamondbacks.
“We have a lot of girls who feel like they have to carry the weight of the team,” Connell said. “We’ve been working on just doing a little bit, doing our part. We just wanted to put the bat on the ball, and we were able to chip away.”
Severance was 2-for-5 with a home run, double and five RBIs, and teammate Ruby Martinez was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
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Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.
