By Spencer Spilman.
The Hays Rebels softball team cruised to a win over cross-town rival Lehman Tuesday night in the battle for Kyle, winning comfortably 9-2.
The Rebels rode the dominant pitching from Sarah Leal. Leal struck out 14 Lehman batters in a complete game win. “Before the game we were all pumped up, and I felt good about my warm-up in the bullpen and I just felt on before the game started,” said Leal.
After two scoreless innings, Angelica Arroyo got a leadoff hit and it didn’t take her long to score. With the bases loaded, Alyssa Martinez was hit by a pitch to give Hays their first lead of the game. The next batter, Haleigh Madden hit a hard line drive to the outfield to bring home two more runs. Leal helped herself out by bringing home another run, but that’s all they would get, and Lehman found themselves in a 4-0 deficit.
It’s a bang-bang play as Hays High’s Addie Vayas (3) hits first base as the ball reaches Lehman Lobo Loren Pizzini’s glove in Tuesday’s Hays vs. Lehman rivalry game. (Photo by Lincoln Ramirez) |
The fourth inning started like the third, with an infield hit from Arroyo. Two batters later, Addie Vayas brought home two runs with a hard hit double. Vayas would be brought home by her pitcher Leal as she smacked another double into the outfield. The three-run fourth gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead.
The Lobos never gave up though, and their bats came alive in the fifth inning. Aleza Ruiz got it started with a triple that she hit to the wall. As Ruiz came into third base she was blocked by the Hays third baseman and was rewarded a free base to get the Lobos on the board. After an infield hit, speedy Clarissa Rayos was brought home by her pitcher Sam Villegas. The two runs were all they could manufacture though.
In the home half of the fifth, Arroyo came through again, this time with a solo home run that hit the scoreboard in left-field. An inning later, Madden continued her impressive night at the plate as she smashed one deep over the left-center field fence. The two solo home runs gave the Rebels a commanding 9-2 lead going into the final inning.
Leal did what she had been doing all night and struck out the side to finish the game. However, Hays Coach Aaron Fuller was more impressed with the hitting from his team, “When you score in four out of your six innings, we must be doing something right offensively,” said Fuller.
