SALINAS VALLEY — All four South Monterey County softball teams were on the field last week with games played locally and on the Monterey Peninsula, as Gonzales and Soledad were on the road.
In its April 20 opener at Carmel, King City lost 14-13 to the host Padres. Freshman pitcher Malaya Carrillo pitched a good game for the Lady Mustangs. Sage Flores had a big hit in the seventh inning and Alejandra Tejeda had strong offensive game with a single and a triple.
Freshman Lisa Villanueva was the hitting star and Carrillo provided the punch on the mound in the Lady Mustangs’ 7-1 victory against the Soledad Aztecs on April 22. Villanueva just missed hitting for the cycle with a triple, a home run and a double that produced two runs batted in.
Carrillo was the winning pitcher and finished the game with six strikeouts. Skila Reyes went 3×4 and Flores hit a double and two singles with one RBI.
On April 19, the Gonzales Spartans showed some fire and grit in a 11-6 loss to the host Monterey High Toreadores. Sofia Prieto was the starting pitcher and went the distance, striking out four batters. Leah Salas led Gonzales offensively with a 3×4 hitting outing with a homerun and made two stellar defensive catches in the outfield, including one where she crashed against the fence. Freshman Aryssa Sandoval was 3×3 and sophomore Celeste Camarena went 3×4.
The following day, April 20, the Spartans lost 7-2 to the host Pacific Grove Breakers. Sophomore Alex Guerrero made her pitching performance and got stronger as the game went along, especially in the late innings. Salas led Gonzales with a 2×3 hitting night and scored one run.
On April 22, the Gonzales softball team beat the host Greenfield Lady Bruins 11-1 in a scrimmage game. Leah Salas went 4×4 with an inside-the-park homerun, and Celeste Camarena was 3×4 with three runs scored and played solid defense at catcher. Alex Guerrero was stellar on the pitching mound, giving up just one run, and Sofia Prieto was strong in relief. Denise Solis led Greenfield with a double and matched a triple by Elena Garcia.
In games this week, King City played at Soledad on Tuesday and will host Gonzales today. The Lady Aztecs will play at Greenfield today. Gonzales began the week by hosting the Robert Louis Stevenson Pirates on Monday and played Greenfield at home Tuesday.
