SALINAS VALLEY — Playing at home was not an advantage for the Gonzales and King City softball team, as the Lady Spartans and Lady Mustangs lost to Greenfield and Robert Louis Stevenson, respectively.
King City began the week with a 13-4 road win against the host Soledad Lady Aztecs last Tuesday. Malaya Carrillo was the winning pitcher and had a two-run double. Victoria Hamilton had three hits, including a homerun, and Lisa Villanueva collected three hits.
Diamond Contawe had a 2 x 4 day at the plate to lead the Lady Aztecs, and Lailah Sanchez-Vega was 1 x 4. Miranda Gonzales and Liz Madrid shared the pitching duties for Soledad.
In the second game of the week, King City lost at home to the Robert Louis Stevenson Pirates, 15-14. Hamilton had a three-run homer and Villanueva had three hits, including a homerun. Alejandra Tejeda had two hits and Kayla Tankersley sent the game into extra innings with a two-run single. King City fought to the end, but the Lady Mustangs could not produce the run in the 10th inning to pull out a victory.
Soledad has been hit by the injury bug as they lost three players for the season this week. With the roster shrinking, the Lady Aztecs were beaten 20-4 against the Carmel Padres.
Gonzales played Greenfield on Tuesday at home last Tuesday and lost by a 4-3 score. Bryanna Perez was solid in relief for Gonzales in the losing effort and was 3 x 3 at the plate with a triple. Leah Salas was 2 x 4 with a double and a triple.
Mikayla Sanchez struck out nine Spartans in the circle for Greenfield and helped her own cause with three hits at the plate. Lizbeth Alcantar collected three hits while Bruins teammate Zuelema Garcia finished with a pair of hits.
Last Thursday in Pacific Grove, the Spartan bats came out aggressive and made contact in the 6-2 win over the Breakers. The game started out slow for Gonzales, but the Spartans began to find holes in the Breakers’ defense in the second and third innings.
Late in the game, Perez and Salas belted out homeruns for Gonzales. Celeste Camarena led the hit parade, going 3 x 4, and Perez was 2 x 4 with the solo homerun. Salas was 2 x 4 with a triple and a homerun. Alex Guerrero was strong on the mound with five strikeouts in the victory.
In games this week, Soledad will play Greenfield and Gonzales, and King City played at Gonzales on Tuesday and at Greenfield on Thursday.
