Coyotes extend winning streak to nine games
Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Valerie Ornelas connects with a pitch. She connected a lot more over the weekend with a .500 batting average over four games at the Redwood Tournament. She hit four doubles with five RBIs to go with five runs scored.
After a four-game sweep of its Central Coast trip, the Madera Coyotes softball team completed a four-game sweep at the Redwood Tournament in Visalia over the weekend with a thrilling, eight-inning victory over Stockdale-Bakersfield.
The Coyotes outscored their opponents 27-6 to improve to 9-0 to open the season after a 2-1 win Saturday over Stockdale.
Madera opened the tournament with a 6-1 victory over Centennial-Bakersfield on Thursday and followed that with a 13-2 win over host Redwood-Visalia. On Friday, the Coyotes traveled back to Visalia to defeat Dinuba 6-2 before Saturday’s win.
Madera will next travel to Sacramento this weekend for a three-day tournament.
Alexis Galvan picked up all four victories in the Redwood Tournament, tossing every inning. She had a 1.25 ERA and allowed five earned runs. She struck out 26 batters in 28 innings and allowed 22 hits.
Valerie Ornelas kept up her hot hitting to open the season, batting .500 (6-for-12) in the tournament with four doubles and five RBIs. She has a .481 batting average through the first four games and already has 10 RBIs.
Lealani Ricks continued to solidify her position in the lead-off spot in the line-up by going 7-for-17 (.412) and scoring a team-high six runs. She already has 12 run scored this season and is batting .441.
Eliza Nunez also hit .385 with three doubles and four RBIs. She has eight on the year with four extra base hits.
The team also welcomed its basketball players, who played in their first games over the weekend. Camile Nunez, Erika Perez, Sofia Perez and Kaylee Patlan combined for 10 hits with two runs scored and seven RBIs.
Madera 6, Centennial 1
After Centennial scored the first run of the game in the top of the first, the Coyotes answered with a five-run bottom of the first inning to cruise to a 6-1 victory.
Ricks led off the inning with a single. Arissa Arias reached on a bunt single as Ricks took third, but Arias was tagged out at second.
Eliza Nunez doubled home Ricks, Ornelas doubled home Nunez and Amanda Garza singled home Ornelas.
Joslynn Davis singled while Garza scored and Belen Gomez singled to drive in Garza. After a strikeout, Sarah Walter singled home Davis for the 5-1 lead.
Davis added a run with a lead-off bunt single. She advanced to second on a walk, to third on a groundout and scored on a passed ball.
After allowing a run on two doubles in the first inning, Galvan settled down and allowed just three hits the rest of the way. She struck out four and retired 11 of the final 10 batters for the win.
Garza and Davis each had two hits for the Coyotes.
Madera 13, Redwood 2
The Coyotes poured it on the Rangers to follow up their game against Centennial.
Madera scored two runs in he first, three in the second, four in the fourth and four more in the sixth to invoke the mercy rule for the win.
Galvan spread out seven hits over six innings. She allowed two runs, one earned and struck out seven.
Nunez was the offense standout, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and a triple. She drove in three runs and scored three. Ornelas went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
Ricks, Arias and Davis each scored two runs and Sofia Perez went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and a double.
Madera 6, Dinuba 2
After a doubleheader Thursday, the Coyotes traveled back to Visalia to face Dinuba and came away with a 6-2 victory after a three-run sixth inning.
The Coyotes were locked in a tough 2-1 battle before salting the game away in the sixth.
Ornelas led off the inning with a double and scored on Perez’s single. Davis drew a walk and Erika Perez sacrificed the runners to second and third.
Camile Nunez singled to drive in both Davis and pinch-runner Kaylee Patlan for a 5-1 lead. Madera added another fun in the seventh for the four-run victory.
Dinuba scored a run in the third for a 2-1 Coyote lead, but didn’t add another run until the seventh.
Galvan scattered five hits and struck out seven for the victory.
Ornelas led the Coyotes with three hits — all doubles — to go with three RBIs. Nunez and Ricks had a pair of hits and Ricks also scored two runs.
Madera 2, Stockdale 1 (8 inn.)
In the most exciting game of the tournament, the Coyotes picked up an extra inning victory and used good defense to hold off the Mustangs in the bottom of the eighth.
Madera scored the first run in the game in the top of the first inning. Ricks singled, Arias sacrificed her to second. Eliza Nunez and Ornelas walked to load the bases. Camile Nunez then walked to force in Ricks for the first run of the game.
The next two batters grounded out to leave the bases loaded. Madera left 10 runners stranded on the bases and had three more thrown out.
Meanwhile, Galvan was getting in and out of trouble in the circle. She allowed a runner on base in every inning except the fifth and looked to have put the game away in the bottom of the seventh.
Redwood reached on an infield single, but the sacrifice attempt was foiled when Sofia Perez pounced on a bunt and threw the runner out at second.
A single put runners at first and third, but Galvan got a popup back to her for the second out.
However, Redwood poked a single to score the game-tying run. The Coyotes walked the next batter to load the bases and a lineout ended the inning.
With Arias at second in the international tiebreaker, Ornelas reached on a fielder’s choice when Stockdale tried to get Arias at third. Nunez reached on an infield single to load the bases.
Davis hit a grounder, but Arias beat the throw to the plate for the go-ahead run with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, the next two Coyotes struck out to end the inning.
Galvan started the eight with a strikeout. The next batter hit a sharp grounder back to third and the runner at second ran into a tag for the second out. After a walk, Galvan struck out the next batter to end the game with a 2-1 victory.
