First baseman powers Bonanza
Emily Osborn might want to play all her softball games at Majestic Park.
The Bonanza sophomore wrapped up a two-day hitting clinic Wednesday by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs to help the Bengals defeat Centennial 4-0 in the championship game of the Spring Jamboree tournament.
The Bengals won five straight games in the tournament after dropping their two pool games.
"Our motto for the week was 'Release the Beast,' and I just tried to do that," said Osborn, a first baseman. "We just wanted to swing and have fun and not worry about anything."
In two games Tuesday and two Wednesday, Osborn went 11-for-14 with three home runs, a triple, two doubles and 15 RBIs. The RBI total is especially impressive because she hits leadoff.
"She's really been on all year," Bonanza coach Dusti Winward said. "But she has just crushed the ball the last two days."
Osborn's final at-bat of the tournament all but clinched the title.
The Bengals (19-3) carried a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning and had the bases loaded after a single by Cheyenne Wells and two hit batters.
Osborn pulled a 3-1 pitch into right-center field, scoring Wells and Michelle Miller.
Nicolette Lind's RBI ground-out made the score 4-0 and gave Bonanza senior pitcher Sam Snyder plenty of cushion.
Snyder tossed a five-hitter and didn't walk a batter. She allowed only two Bulldogs to reach third base.
"She's so confident out there," Osborn said.
Snyder allowed the leadoff batter to reach base in each of the first five innings, but Centennial (15-5) went 0-for-14 with runners on, including 10 at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
Centennial, a 4-2 winner over Palo Verde in the semifinals, had scored 76 runs in its previous nine games, including a 9-4 victory over Bonanza in pool play Monday.
"Sam just relaxed and really got focused," Winward said. "She used her defense. The girls all wanted it."
Bonanza advanced to the final by outlasting Winslow (Ariz.) 14-11 in a two-hour-plus semifinal.
"We just need to take this and keep running with it," Winward said.
Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.
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WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
BASEBALL
• Spring Valley’s Enzo Bello went 5-for-6 with a double, a home run and five RBIs as the Grizzlies won the Purple 3 Division of the Blazer Spring Bash at Sierra Vista.
• Shadow Ridge’s Jordan Blaylock fired a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts in the Mustangs’ 11-1 victory over Hillcrest (Utah) in the Bishop Gorman Desert Classic at Hadland Park.
• Del Sol’s Matt Lemos tossed a four-hitter with seven strikeouts in the Dragons’ 4-2 win over Morse (Calif.) in the Lions Tournament in San Diego.
SOFTBALL
• Coronado’s Allie Amato went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs and four RBIs and got the win in the Cougars’ 14-4 victory over Douglas in the Spring Jamboree at Majestic Park.
• Cimarron-Memorial’s Staryln Thomas went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs in the Spartans’ 12-3 win over Ramona (Calif.) in the Charger Invitational at West Flamingo Park.
