Palo Verde holds on for key league win over Shadow Ridge
Palo Verde knew how important Tuesday’s game at Shadow Ridge was. The No. 2 Panthers kicked off a three-game set against their Northwest League rival, knowing full well the winner of the series will have a big advantage toward winning the league title.
The defending state champions rose to the occasion.
The Panthers smacked 12 hits, including home runs from Lauryn Barker and Makall Whetten, and held off a late rally for an 8-6 road victory against the top-ranked Mustangs.
“With that home run, after striking out the first time, I wanted to go out and do something for my team,” Barker said. “It was a pretty big moment for me and my team.”
“They’re a good team, and if we don’t bring our best stuff we’re not going to be successful,”
The offense set Palo Verde up, but a key defensive play ensured the win. Up 8-5 going to the bottom of the seventh, Shadow Ridge’s first three hitters reached to score one and put runners on first and second, and Caitlyn Covington came to the plate as the potential go-ahead run.
The Mustangs’ junior was 3-for-3 with two doubles and three runs to that point, and drove the first pitch she saw to right field. Palo Verde freshman Alyssa Lybbert caught it, then fired to third to nail the runner and complete the double play.
“I wasn’t really thinking that much, I think that’s why it was a better throw,” Lybbert said. “It got me really hyped up.”
It sucked the momentum from Shadow Ridge’s dugout, and a harmless groundout from the next hitter ended the game.
“We definitely needed it,” Palo Verde coach Kelly Glass said. “That’s what we expect from her. We know she’s capable of doing it, and she just executed.”
The Panthers took the lead for good on a two-out, two-RBI single from Sianna Lewis in the fifth, but it was back-and-forth up to that point. Whetten doubled and later scored to lead off the game, then the Mustangs answered with two in the second.Whetten tied it up on a homer to begin the third, then Barker blasted a two-run shot to center to give Palo Verde a 4-2 lead.
Shadow Ridge tied it in the fourth, but could never get the lead back. Angelina Esqueda was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs for the Mustangs, and Merisa Osborn knocked in a pair.
Glass said winning the first game of the series was key, but she was happy with how her team did it. Taylor Askland threw the whole game for the Panthers, but Shadow Ridge used five pitchers to get through it. Glass said that sets the Panthers up nicely for the next two games, Wednesday at Palo Verde and back at Shadow Ridge on Thursday.
“Now we know what to expect from every single pitcher,” Glass said. “And everybody had the opportunity, for the most part, to see every single pitcher.”
Grace Chavez doubled for the Panthers, and Samantha Wade had two RBIs.
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Contact Justin Emerson at jemerson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2944. Follow @J15Emerson on Twitter.