Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Dora's Kimberlee Rains fouls off a pitch in the first inning of Thursday's game against Logan. The Coyotes went on to beat the Longhorns, 13-3.
DORA — Prairie gusts of 30 mph and more couldn't stop Dora from pouring it on Logan in Thursday's A/3A-District 5/6 softball matchup. The Coyotes scored seven runs in the third inning to take the lead for good in a 13-3 victory over the Longhorns.
"We just started coming out hitting again," Coyotes coach Benney Tapia said. "We started off slow, but we came out to hit."
For the second time in three days, Dora (5-4, 2-2) used one big inning to get things going, breaking the game open in the process.
This time around, that happened to be the bottom of the third inning. Trailing 3-1 to the Longhorns (2-4, 0-3) with one out, Brittaney Valladares' fly ball was dropped in right field. Kirsten Tapia's double off the wall in center scored courtesy runner Heather Buzard.
After a Jaedin Paxton walk, an error at shortstop brought in Tapia to tie the game at 3-3. Dixie Skelley's double to deep center field then plated two more runs, before Allie Luscombe drew a bases loaded walk to bring in another run.
Finally, a two-run single to the left field gap by Valladares extended the lead to 8-3. And while both coaches agreed that wind conditions made it difficult to field balls in the air, for Logan coach Suzanne Byrd, it was balls and strikes that frustrated her more than weather.
"I think we just really struggled in finding the umpire's strike zone," Byrd explained. "Our pitcher (Emily LeBlanc) was just frustrated, because she felt like she was pitching good. When she got frustrated, the whole team kind of followed her."
Things didn't get much better for the Longhorns after the third, however. Valladares led off the fifth inning with a single, before Tapia was dinged on the thigh. Paxton then hit a high fly ball in the air, which eventually carried over the fence for a three-run home run.
On the other side of things, Luscombe made life difficult on Longhorn hitters. While Logan got three runs in the top of the third inning, but it couldn't capitalize any further. Luscombe went five innings and allowed just four hits, while striking out nine batters. Tapia, meanwhile, finished off the final inning with just one baserunner allowed.
Dora will next have a pair of doubleheaders next week, starting with two games at Estancia on Monday. "We just got to get our pitching game going; that's why I kinda worked (Tapia in there), to get her some reps," Benney Tapia said. "Other than that, (we need to) just come out hitting again."
