(Mesa, AZ) The Park University Gibert softball team split a pair of games today with OUAZ, losing the first game 5-1, before coming back to take the second contest 3-1 The Bucs pick up their second win on the season and move to 2-6 on the year. OUAZ stands at 6-6 after the split.
Game 1 – OUAZ 5, Park Gilbert 1
After a scoreless first inning, OUAZ got on the board with three runs in the top of second off of Buccaneers starting pitcher Abril Nerey. Two doubles two singles and a fielder’s choice did the damage in the inning.
The Buc bats remained silent over the first six innings as Park left 10 runners on base for the game.
OUAZ added a solo run in the third and an insurance run in the seventh before Park got on the board with an Aubrey Chavez single to score Ledezma Romero in the bottom of the seventh for the Bucs lone run.
Nerey (1-2) took the loss in the circle as she threw a complete game allowing 12 hits and five runs (4 earned) and struck out three.
Romero, Chavez and Carolina Olivas each had two hits.
Game 2 – Park Gilbert 3, OUAZ 1
The Buccaneers fell behind again to the spirit, this time in the top of the first as Bucs starter Nicole Darby had trouble finding her control. She walked and hit four of the first five batters she faced to bring home the only run OUAZ would score for the game.
Darby would settle in and hold the Spirit scoreless over the next three innings to give the Bucs a chance to make a comeback.
Park got on the board in the fourth. Danielle Farinas led off with a single. Aubry Chavez followed with a double to more Farinas to third with no one out. Then with two outs the Bucs received some assistance from the Spirit defense. An error by the third baseman allowed Farinas to score and tie the game.
Darby was replaced in the circle by Christian Smith in the fifth and was put in line for the win when the Bucs plated two more in the bottom half of the inning.
Taylor Mount reached second on an errant throw from the OUAZ third baseman, then Bucs leadoff hitter Noelle Gumm drilled a double to center to score Mount. Gumm then stole third and scored on a single by Romero.
The game would then rest on the shoulders of Smith who gave Buccaneers coach Josh Musselman some gray hairs in the sixth and the seventh as she had to pitch out of jams in both innings.
In the sixth with runners on second and third with one out. Smith struck out consecutive batters to end the inning.
In the seventh, the first two hitters reached base with no one out. Smith then struck out the next hitter, got the second hitter to fly out to right and induced a roll over ground ball to third and Chavez stepped on the bag to end the game.
Smith (1-3) picked up her first win of the season. In three innings, she allowed three hits and struck out six. Romero had two of the Bucs five hits and an RBI.
Park Gilbert returns to the field on Saturday, February 17 when they travel to OUAZ’s home, Willow Canyon HS to take on No. 2 Southern Oregon at 12:30 pm before playing a rubber match with OUAZ at 3 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
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