Coyotes go undefeated at tourney

The Madera Coyotes softball team ended the Elk Grove Preseason Touranment against the host team and came away with an impressive 7-3 victory.

The Coyotes got three RBIs from Valerie Ornelas and Gennahlyn Sanchez and a complete game from ace Kaylee Dawson to get the win.

“Elk Grove is a legit team,” head coach Judy Shaubach said. “We just had a phenomenal game. Kaylee had a great performance. She buckled down and let our defense make plays. We didn’t get complacent at the plate. It showed us we have a potential to play at a high level.”

The Coyotes outscored their opponents 34-16 in the five-game tournament from Thursday to Saturday, including a walk-off victory against Wood High School.

“The kids did a really good job,” Shaubach said. “We kept getting better and better as the weekend progressed. As the tournament went on, we started playing better defense. We have plenty of things to work on. I saw some maturity at the plate.”

Taylor Brooks led the Coyotes from the lead-off spot in the line-up. She batted .529 for the tournament while scoring eight runs and stealing 11 bases. Hollee Brown batted .583 with seven hits and two RBIs. Sofia Perez batted .600 with six hits.

“I am a very proud coach, especially from where we came in to where we left,” Shaubach said.

The Coyotes opened the tournament Thursday with a 6-4 victory over Ponderosa-Shingle Springs. Madera followed that with a 6-2 win over Churchill County- Fallon, NV.

On Friday, the Coyotes defeated McQueen-Reno 10-3.

Then, came the game of the tournament for the Coyotes. The Coyotes trailed Wood-Vacaville 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The umpires already told Shaubach it would be the final inning because of the time limit.

With one out, Tayah Hernandez drew a walk to get the game-winning rally started. Ornelas followed with a triple to drive in Hernandez. The Wood shortstop bobbled the ball and Ornelas broke for the plate to score the game-tying run.

Sofia Perez followed with a single. Sanchez singled pinch-runner Mariah McMillon to second. On a full count, Joslynn Davis singled and McMillon raced around the bases to score the game-winning run for a 5-4 victory.

“That win really helps us with our growth and maturity,” Shaubach said. “We have so many weapons. We have that speed and quickness. Our kids kept growing in that game.”

The Coyotes took an early 1-0 lead against Elk Grove in the final game on Saturday. Brooks singled and went to third on an error. She scored on an Ornelas sacrifice fly.

Madera added another run in the fourth on a Brown single and a Sanchez single. The Coyotes scored four more runs in the third on a run-scoring double from Ornelas, an RBI single from Brown and a two-run double by Sanchez.

The Coyotes scored another run in the sixth on a Mikayla Arrieta single and an Ornelas run-scoring single.

Dawson held Elk Grove scoreless through the first four innings. She ran into trouble in the fifth before getting a strikeout and a fly out. She allowed another run in the sixth, but got a strikeout and two flyouts to end the game with a 7-3 victory.

Madera played at Clovis North on Tuesday and will get a week off before hosting Buchanan on March. 20.