Copper Hills battled back from a two-run deficit in the fifth inning and walked off with a 4-3 win over San Xavier in the second game of the best-of-three District 12 Little League 8-10 softball championship at Anamax Park at Sahuarita.
San Xavier, which won 7-0 in the first game Friday night, and Copper Hills will play a final Game 3 on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Anamax Park.
The winner advances to the 8-10 state tournament at Verde Valley on July 8.
After San Xavier built a 3-1 lead going to the bottom of the fifth inning, Kali Underwood hit a two-run inside-the-park home run with no outs.
The hit scored Hailey Lucas, who walked to lead off the inning.
Copper Hills 3B Kali Underwood hit a two-run inside-the-park HR in the fifth inning that tied the game at 3 with San Xavier. Copper Hills prevailed with a walk-off win to force a deciding Game 3 Monday (6:30 p.m., Anamax Park in Sahuarita) of the District 12 8-10 softball… pic.twitter.com/h8J8Mul0Xp
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) June 23, 2024
Aaliyah Martinez, the winning pitcher for San Xavier on Friday, struck out the next three batters.
In the top of the sixth, San Xavier’s Ariela Perez and Bailey Pompa hit consecutive singles but Copper Hills starter Alani Parra managed to get a double play and a ground out to end the threat.
Copper Hills’ sixth inning started with McKenzie Campos reaching second base on a two-base error. A fielder’s choice grounder hit by Blake Moreno resulted in Campos thrown out at third base. After the next batter was hit by a pitch, Parra walked to load the bases.
A throwing error on a grounder allowed Moreno to score the winning run.
“We told the girls we’re not giving up and we can beat this team,” Copper Hills manager Leslie Rupp said. “They fought hard. They never gave up. They never hung their heads. We just played smart ball, and we were able to make the comeback.”
Parra pitched a complete game, scattering six hits with one earned run. She struck out four and walked three.
Copper Hills starting pitcher Alani Parra got the win, scattering six hits in her complete-game performance. She struck out four, walked three and allowed only one earned run in the 4-3 victory over San Xavier in Game 2 of the District 12 8-10 softball championship series. https://t.co/5eiMaxcSch pic.twitter.com/lycHhl5vCy
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) June 23, 2024
“She was amazing,” Rupp said. “This is the most she’s ever pitched. She rocked it and we couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Moreno went 1 for 3 with a run for Copper Hills.
Idalis Acevedo and Pompa each had RBIs and Perez went 2 for 3 for San Xavier.
Martinez pitched the last 2 1/3 innings of the game and struck out five with two walks while allowing one hit.
In Friday’s 7-0 win for San Xavier, Martinez struck out 14 and walked three with one hit allowed in a complete-game performance.
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Recommended for you
