(Benson, AZ) Bobcat pitcher Katie Sherman did it again by throwing her second consecutive perfect game, this time against Santa Cruz Valley High 17-0 on Thursday. She hurled a perfect game on Tuesday to lead the Benson Bobcats past Bisbee 20-0.
Sherman’s repertoire of pitches includes a nasty “yo-yo” change-up that often baffles hitters to go along with her rise and drop balls. She’s very difficult to predict as she mixes her pitches perfectly and keeps the opposition constantly off balance.
Head Coach Brittney Batten
First year Head Coach Brittney Batten has the 2019 Bobcats focused and on their way to make a run at a three-peat title.
Batten has a powerful lineup and one of the most dominant pitching staffs in the State.
There are no egos on this team, but rather a group of athletes who have been playing softball since they were kids on the San Pedro Valley Little League Team. This is a huge advantage of growing up in a small town. By the time these girls hit high school they’d been playing together for almost a decade.
On Tuesday, Emily Darwin led Benson to victory with six RBI on a 3-3 performance. Darwin’s RBI came on a forced home walk in the third, a triple also in the third, and a grand slam in the fourth.
The third inning was huge for Benson as they put up twelve runs. The rally was led by walks to Darwin, Ashlynn Poulsen, and Jamie Barney and triples by Darwin and Abby Workman. Kayla Sherman and Taylor Fenn singled and doubles by Katie Sherman and Lily Speer.
Sherman went five innings in the run rule perfect game and had twelve strikeouts.
Villegas took the loss for Bisbee, only lasting three innings and allowing ten hits and thirteen runs. Emily Darwin smacked the lone home run in the fourth inning.
Bobcat’s had sixteen hits on the day. The big sticks were Darwin, Katie and Kayla Sherman, Mikayla Wales, and Fenn each had multiple hits for Benson. Sherman and Darwin all had three hits to lead Benson. Stellar defense backed up Sherman as Workman had the most defensive fielding chances with twelve.
Bobcat Senior Katie Sherman
On Thursday in the win over Santa Cruz Valley, Sherman pitched her second perfect game 17-0, the final out coming off a ground ball.
Darwin led drove in five runs, going 3-4 at the plate including grand slam in the first and a double in the third.
Benson scored first when Barney homered on a 1-0 count, knocking in two runs.
Once again in a run rule shortened five inning game, Sherman didn’t allow a batter to reach base while collecting fourteen strikeouts.
The Bobcats made the most of their offense scoring seventeen runs on seventeen hits. Darwin, Barney, Sherman, and Abby Workman all had multiple hits. Sherman, Barney, and Darwin each collected three hits
Again Benson had stellar defense in the field. Workman in her second consecutive effort had fifteen putouts.
Both Bisbee and Santa Cruz Valley had no answer for the juggernaut Bobcats.
With Sherman in “the zone” there’s no telling if and when it will let up. She’s no stranger to the Southern Arizona softball scene, she’s been as successful in Club Softball playing with and against athletes from much larger schools.
