Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

GV girls go to 4-0 in Sunrise

Preaching paid off for one prep softball coach. Now another hopes patience will do the same.

Chrissy Buck hit a two-run home run and Joni Scoville tossed a shutout as Green Valley took a 3-0 decision over Las Vegas Thursday afternoon at the Gators' diamond. The victory kept Green Valley unblemished in Sunrise Division play at 4-0, 13-8 overall, while the Wildcats fell to 2-2 and 9-11.

Buck also singled as Green Valley posted five hits. The Gators' performance at the plate came much to the delight of Green Valley coach Cindi Davis, who said her team is finally taking to heart the hitting keys the coaches have been stressing all season long.

"They are now finally buying into what we are saying," said Davis. "We don't have to take big swings. We want to keep it short and compact, and it works. It's starting to click, as we saw today. We did some really nice things today. I liked the execution and I liked the enthusiasm."

On the other side, Las Vegas coach Gina Davis waits for her team to start hitting the way she believes it can. The Wildcats managed just three hits against Scoville in suffering their second straight defeat.

"I thought our pitcher (Amy Borbino) did an outstanding job, but our weakness continues to be hitting," she said. "If we can ever start hitting the ball we're going to win a lot of ball games. It's getting late in the season now, so it better start happening. That's the bottom line."

After two scoreless innings, Green Valley broke through in the bottom of the third.

With one out, Jessie Fikes reached on an error and advanced to second on a passed ball. Buck then drilled a Borbino offering over the outfielders' heads and up the gap in left-center for an easy inside-the-park homer and a 2-0 lead.

The Gators added an insurance run in the sixth on a two-out triple by Kelly Thiele and an RBI double from Jen Lee to close the scoring.

Buck's performance, both at the plate and in the field, won praise from her coach. The shortstop also made three putouts to go with her hitting exploits.

"It was a great game that she had today," Cindi Davis said. "It was a hitting seminar out there for her today. That's the best she's hit all season. Defensively, she was outstanding. It was great to see her come through."

Las Vegas' Davis said that while her team's bats are a little quiet right now, she has every confidence that its fortune will change.

"I have a lot of faith in these guys," she said. "There are a lot of good athletes on this team. I think, player-for-player, we have better athletes than any team. As soon as it all starts clicking, we're going to be there."

archive