Roundup: Salpointe beats Marana as teams score 21 total

After blowing two one-run leads through the middle innings, the Salpointe baseball team broke out for six runs in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday night.

A Jack Hale go-ahead RBI groundout gave the Lancers all they needed to pull out a 13-8 win over Marana in the Tucson Conquistador Lancer Baseball Classic at Kino Sports Complex.

“We put ourselves in a lot of situations that we are getting used to,” first-year Salpointe coach Danny Preble said. “We’re battling like crazy. We go out and score three in the top of the sixth and then give up a four spot in the bottom of the inning. They could’ve cashed it in right there. A lot of teams will.”

Trailing 8-7 in the seventh inning, Salpointe drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game and gave Hale a chance at continuing the rally. Salpointe sent 10 hitters to the plate in the top of the inning.

Hale grounded the second pitch he saw from Marana pitcher Danny Gallegos to shortstop Justin Faust. By the time Faust came up with the ball, his only play was at first base to get Hale out after Salpointe’s Tyler Lohn had crossed home for the 9-8 lead.

“I don’t think we’ve gone a game yet where we’ve had a big inning and put up a zero the next,” Preble said. “This was the first one. We proved that we can come back again and get after them. We’ve put ourselves in a good spot.”

With the lead, Jacob Llamas put the game out of reach with a two-run single later in the inning.

“I was just looking to put the ball into play,” Llamas said. “I wanted to get a run in, at least, so we could go into the next inning confident.”

Softball

After giving up a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, Salpointe pitcher Nicole Rascon settled down.

She retired 14 of the next 17 hitters she faced, finishing the day with 11 strikeouts as Salpointe beat Rincon/University 6-2 on Tuesday.

The Lancers scored four in the fourth inning, capitalizing on three Rincon errors.

“I just knew that we would eventually put enough pressure on them,” Salpointe coach Ted Farhart said. “. . . I never thought we were out of it. I was just disappointed with the way we started.”

Salpointe responded to Rincon’s two runs in the top of the first with a run in the bottom half of the inning. Then the team struggled with runners in scoring position in the second and third as the Lancers’ lineup tried to adjust to the change-up of pitcher Victoria Anavizca.

“We just couldn’t adjust until the fourth inning and that’s when I told them, ‘Start looking change-up and adjust to the fastball,’ ” Farhart said.

Anavizca got the first two Lancers out on strikes in the fourth inning, but the three consecutive errors by Rincon led to four runs.

“This is a disappointing loss because I thought we were right there,” Rincon coach Monica Montijo said.

“We were competing and we are just as good as they are in every single position, but we did not perform and that’s learning to win.

“That’s what we are doing as a program right now: learning to win.”

RODNEY HAAS

Girls volleyball

Canyon del Oro High School and Zona 18-Errea club team outside hitter Stephanie Ziegler has given an oral commitment to play volleyball at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

Ziegler will play for an NMSU program that has grown into one of the best in the Southwest. In 2008, the Aggies, coached by Mike Jordan, were co-regular-season champion in the Western Athletic Conference with perennial national power Hawaii, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Boys volleyball

At Salpointe, Pat Tunnell set up 28 assists for the Lancers in a home 3-0 sweep of two-time state champion Catalina Foothills (25-22, 25-18, 25-20).

Salpointe’s Mikey Smith had 13 kills.

Foothills was led by 15 kills by star Garrett Voge and 25 assists by Andy Magill 25.

Salpointe plays in Class 4A/5A Division I.

Catalina Foothills’ past two state titles have come in 4A/5A Division II.

High School Sports Editor Geoff Grammer contributed to this article.