Hot-hitting Gators down Mustangs for softball win

Green Valley's softball team is finding a few aspects of its game that need a little tweak before league play starts.

The Gators' offense, though, is not one of them.

Two games into a season in which it might be the favorite to win the Sunrise Region title, Green Valley has come out of the chute swinging -- and hitting.

The most recent example came Monday when the Gators' first three batters scored en route to a 10-4 win at defending Sunset champion Shadow Ridge.

"What I like is the intensity of their batting," said Green Valley coach Lauren Taylor, whose team has scored 19 runs in its first two games. "Toward the end of last season the batting really built up, and it carried over into this year."

The Gators had eight hits -- four of them for extra bases -- and drew four walks as they scored in four innings and were retired in order only once.

Chelsea Anderson went 2-for-4 with a bases-loaded triple, a double, two runs and four RBIs from the No. 2 spot in the order to spark Green Valley, which began the game with consecutive doubles and had a 3-0 lead five batters into the game.

"We've always struggled with our two-hole (hitter)," Taylor said. "The girls all call that the cursed spot, but nothing bothers Chelsea. She just gets in there and gets it done."

The hitting helped mask some issues the Gators had in the field. Their four errors led to four unearned runs.

"We've given up 10 runs in two games and only two of those have been earned," Taylor said.

A throwing error on a pickoff play in the first inning allowed two runs to score, and a misplayed grounder opened the door for a two-run inning in the fifth. Both times Green Valley was able to regroup and minimize the damage.

"Our biggest challenge is making silly throws," Taylor said. "It's an older group of kids. They know what they did wrong. They don't need me to tell them."

Ali Bodnar went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs. Vickers, Anderson and Bodnar -- the top three hitters in the Gators' lineup -- each scored two runs and went a combined 5-for-10 with six RBIs.