Late rally lifts Blazers

The first five innings of Monday's softball game between Lindhurst and Live Oak high schools had all the makings of a pitchers' dual.

Lindhurst's Morgan Thome and the Lions' Courtney Souza matched each other pitch for pitch until the Blazers' bats came alive late to break open a tightly contested game to run away with an 8-1 victory at home.

"We kind of blew it there at the end," said Live Oak coach Brad Emery. "It was a good game until the fifth."

With her team leading 2-1, Thome helped herself at the plate by delivering a key two-run single in the fifth before Lindhurst put the game away by with a four-run sixth.

"She does a great job," Lindhurst coach Bill Biggs said of Thome, who gave up one run in six innings and struck out seven. "She can pitch and she can hit, too."

The Blazers (6-2-1) got on the scoreboard first when senior Alisha Benge smacked a one-hopper of the left field wall for a double, stole third and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Jordan Stanaland.

In the fourth, Stephanie Papadopulos looped a tough 3-2 pitch into right field for an RBI-single to make it 2-0.

While Thome was keeping the Lions' bats at bay, Souza kept her team in the game by scattering five hits before Allison Yanez led off the fifth with a single to right. One out later, Whitney Benzel sent a liner back up the middle that deflected off Thome and directly to third baseman Jennifer Rodriguez.

Although Rodriguez's throw to first was high, the ball hit the fence and took a friendly bounce into the hands of first baseman Samantha Gillock, who whirled and fired a strike to home to nab Yanez in a close play at the plate.

Adding insult to injury for Live Oak, Ashley Howell followed with a double to left-center field to bring what would have been the game-tying run, but instead kept the Lions down, 2-1.

After seeing their lead trimmed in half, the Blazers struck right back.

A walk to Stanaland and a single by Rodriguez set the table for Thome, who delivered her two-run single up the middle to give the Blazers a 4-1 lead.

Lindhurst struck for four more runs in the sixth, with Benge delivering the key blow with a two-run double that knocked over a portion of the fence in left field.

"Courtney did a good job coming back. She worked the ball and hit her spots and kept us in the game throughout, they just got a couple hits in the gap," Emery said.

"Defensively we're in pretty good shape, we just needed to break on the ball a little quicker in the outfield."

Mercedez Duenas went 2-for-3 with a triple and Yanez had two singles to lead the Lions (2-6).

Benge finished the game 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and scored twice, and Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead Lindhurst's 11-hit attack.

"The difference this year is we are playing as a team," said Benge, who batted .441 as a junior. "Last year we would fall apart after a big hit or an error. Now, we're coming together as a team and that's big, especially this early in the season."

Stanaland came on to strike out two in the seventh to close out the win.

The game was one of a few remaining tune-ups before the teams open league play.

Lindhurst hosts Golden Empire League power Capital Christian while the Lions welcome Sacramento Valley League foe East Nicolaus on Friday.

"I told the girls I'd like to win league and we have our eyes on the Section," Biggs said. "But we have to beat Capital Christian first."

Contact Andy Arrenquin at 743-0512 or contact him at aarrenquin@appealdemocrat.com.