Despite game two grand slam, pitching could not hold late lead
Rene Gomez
Lady T-Birds softball split a home doubleheader with Paradise Valley on Feb. 8. Mesa’s overall season record and conference record is now 1-3.
Samantha Christianson threw 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits (one run earned) and got a no decision.
Shinya Henry got the win in her hitless 1.2 innings pitched.
Henry also was the heroine with the bat; going two for two and she drove in the two go ahead runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“Usually our coach says ‘put the ball in play if there’s runners on;’ I just did that and it just went in the gap,” Henry said.
Bridget Kruck and Kyleigh Hanson both went two for four and the team finished with 11 hits in 25 at-bats.
The Lady T-Birds’ second game was high-scoring, but resulted in a loss to the Pumas 10-9.
Henry started that game on the mound and allowed five earned runs on eight hits in her five innings.
“My body was pretty messed up and aching, but our coach tells us not to complain about it,” Henry said.
Paradise Valley was scoreless in the first two innings, but afterwards put up at least one run every inning, and exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth to take a 8-7 lead.
Mesa responded in the bottom of the sixth by scoring two runs of their own to retake the lead 9-8, but in the last two innings the bullpen allowed five earned runs.
One bat that came alive belonged to Kendra Whalen who went three for four, scored two runs, had six runs batted in, and hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“I kind of fixed my mistakes in the first game that I figured out I was doing wrong and stopped thinking about it and hit the ball,” Whalen said.
After two more doubleheaders at home on Feb.11 and 15 facing Pima and Central Arizona, Mesa will be on a lengthy road trip until a 1 p.m. March 17 doubleheader against the Monroe Tribunes at Mesa Community College.
