The Varsity Arabians only had four more hits than Lytle in their game on Friday, April 7, but were much more efficient, beating the Lady Pirates 19-7 to improve to 4-1 in District 29-4A and 19-6 overall.
Devine pounced immediately, batting around in the top of the 1st inning. Leadoff batter Taylor Carr drew a walk to start the game, Jaylyn Stewart doubled, and Korin Stehle singled to drive in Carr. Brittany Jay stepped up to the plate with one out and blasted a three-run home run to center field to clear the bases and put Devine up 4-0.
Amanda Wilson and Brooklyn Anderson hit back-to-back singles, and Jessie Ramirez followed with a long single to center to drive in Wilson for the final run of the inning.
Lytle had a strong 1st inning of their own, scoring twice thanks to a leadoff double, a sacrifice fly to left field, and two consecutive singles to cut Devine’s lead to 5-2.
The Arabians got both runs back and then some in the top of the 2nd inning. Stehle hit a one-out single, and Jenna Sadler and Jay hit back-to-back home runs to left field to give Devine an 8-2 lead.
After holding the Lady Pirates scoreless in the bottom of the 2nd inning, Devine batted around in the top of the 3rd, scoring eight more runs.
Carr led off the inning with a double, Stewart walked, and Sadler put a ball into play that drew an error from the Lytle right fielder that allowed Carr to score. Jay doubled to drive in Stewart and Sadler, and Wilson singled to center before being caught stealing for the second out of the inning. Anderson singled to knock in Jay, Ramirez walked, and Julie Ortiz singled to center to drive in Anderson and Ramirez. Carr came to the plate for the second time in the inning and smacked a two-run homer to straightaway center for a commanding 16-2 advantage.
The Lady Pirates continued to battle, using three singles and a double to score two more runs.
Devine’s final runs of the game came in the top of the 4th inning. Sadler hit a one-out double, Jay reached on an error by the Lytle third baseman, and Anderson followed with a two-out single to drive in Sadler. Ramirez split the center fielder and right fielder with a long double, knocking in Jay and Anderson to put the Arabians up 19-4.
Lytle scored twice in the 4th inning and once in the 5th, but it wasn’t enough to keep Devine from walking away with the 19-7 run-rule victory.
“Tonight our eye work really paid off,” Head Coach Mark Mangold said. “Picking out the pitch we wanted and staying away from pitches out of the zone made our offense come to life.”
Batting: Carr 2-4, 2 RBI, 1 BB; Stewart 1-3, 2 BB; Stehle 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 SB; Sadler 2-5, 3 RBI; Jay 3-4, 6 RBI; Wilson 2-4; Anderson 3-4, 2 RBI, 1 BB; Ramirez 2-3, 3 RBI, 1 BB; Ortiz 1-4, 2 RBI
Pitching: Wilson 5.0 IP, 7 ER, 14 hits, 7 strikeouts.
Upcoming games
The Arabians hosted Carrizo Springs on Tuesday, April 11, and will travel to Crystal City on Thursday, April 13, before welcoming Pearsall next Tuesday, April 18.
By Marly Davis
Staff Writer