Lady Bruins remain in playoff battle, beat Lady Hornets 12-2

POLACCA – Hopi served up too much pitching, defense and hitting for Ganado’s taste as the Lady Bruins beat the Lady Hornets, 12-2, in high school girls softball action April 19 at Hopi.

Jaylena Dewakuku supplied the pitching as she threw a four hitter against Ganado. The team played solid defense throughout as Hopi High scored a dozen times.

Hopi High improved to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the 3A North Conference. The Lady Bruins remain in the playoff hunt with the regional conference starting on April 26.

The game was called after five innings as Hopi won by the ten run rule.

Dewakuku, a junior, struck out nine and walked one on her way to the victory.

The game was played in extremely windy conditions. Hopi High Coach Dirk Wirth said the windy conditions made playing uncomfortable for everybody.

“It was hard to catch the ball, hard to hit the ball and hard to see the ball,” he said. “The winds were pretty severe. I think they were at 40 miles per hour.”

Wirth praised Dewakuku for a solid outing.

“She struck out nine of the 15 outs, so that’s a pretty good percentage,” he said. “She did really well considering the conditions.”

Wirth noted that Dewakuku had the backing of a strong defense. He said catcher Holly Laban played well behind the plate, Rachelle Jim and Celena Nash were outstanding in the outfield and Ivy Taylor and Kristy Pavatea were exceptional in the infield.

“The defense was good and that’s what held Ganado to two runs,” Wirth said. “We did a really good job on defense.”

Kristy Timms led the hitting brigade as she whacked a home run and a double. Laban stroked a triple and scored three times. Terra Morgan had two hits including a double. Jackie Tsosie, Pavatea and Chelsea Nevayaktewa scored two times each.

Wirth said Nevayaktewa, a freshman, has played solid defense at second base throughout the season.

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