SPRING JAMBOREE: Liberty falls in morning but dominates in afternoon

Between its games at the Spring Jamboree, Liberty’s softball team gathered on one of the unused fields at Majestic Park for a pep talk from coach Jim Portese.

In the morning, the Patriots were shut out in their first game of pool play, and Portese wanted to make sure they were up for the afternoon encounter.

“I told them the reason why sometimes we play a little flat is that we’re not aggressive,” Portese said.

Liberty had no issues in that department against Poly-Sun Valley (California), pounding out 17 hits, stealing five bases and putting nonstop pressure on the Parrots’ defense in a 20-1 four-inning victory.

“That’s the way I want them to play,” Portese said. “I don’t like to coach robots. I want the kids to understand the game within the game. If they see an opening, if they see somewhere they can steal a base … I give them a lot of freedom to just play the game and be aggressive.”

Breanna Alvarez finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-4 with five RBIs, and allowed only two hits in three innings to earn the victory.

Jessica Meza went 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs and three RBIs, and Cali Christopher finished 3-for-3 with a double and four runs scored.

Eight of the nine players in the starting lineup for the Patriots (2-3) had at least one hit.

“We were better focused in this one,” Portese said.

Alvarez danced around a bit of trouble in the bottom of the second inning as Emily Rodriguez lined into an inning-ending double play with runners on first and third.

In the bottom of the third, Ruby Melendez had a run-scoring double for Poly (4-5), and Leslie Arreola walked to put runners on first and second with one out. But Alvarez got Chantal Avila to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to escape further damage.

“We got good pitching out of Bre,” Portese said. “Any time you can put up two runs in the top of the first, come back and shut them down, and now you can play small ball, you can move runners around with the bunt and do other things.”

The Patriots erupted for seven runs in the second and took every opportunity at an extra base during the inning. Alvarez and Morgan LaNeve had back-to-back run-scoring doubles followed by a two-run homer by McKenna Hefley.

Meza had a two-run double, and Ashleigh Rodriguez added a run-scoring triple as Liberty scored six runs in the third inning. Alvarez hit a three-run homer to left-center to highlight a five-run fourth inning.

El Camino Real (Calif.) 7, Liberty 0 — Alvarez went 2-for-3 in the Patriots’ loss to the Conquistadors.

LaNeve and Marisa Olmos each went 1-for-2 as Liberty managed only four singles against El Camino Real pitcher Emma Jackson.

Madi Gilmore homered, and Carley Gaskill had a double for the Conquistadors.

Palo Verde 10, Birmingham (Calif.) 0 — Makall Whetten and Jessica Nimmo homered, and Haylee Lupinetti spun a two-hitter as the Panthers beat the Patriots in five innings.

Nimmo drove in three runs, and Kali Tomlinson went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs, two stolen bases and an RBI.

Cara Beatty was 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI for Palo Verde, which scored six runs in the third inning.

Julissa Rodriguez had both of Birmingham’s hits off Lupinetti, who struck out two and walked one.

Calexico (Calif.) 7, Palo Verde 6 — Lauryn Barker and Grace Chavez hit two-run homers, and Kali Tomlinson added a solo shot, but the Panthers committed four errors and fell to the Bulldogs in five innings.

Allyson Snelling and Samantha Wade had two hits apiece for Palo Verde.

Andrea Quirroz and Michelle Roldan each went 2-for-3 for Calexico, which scored four runs in the top of the third to take a 7-3 lead.

Centennial 7, Harbor Teacher Prep (Calif.) 2 — Angel Love’s triple capped a five-run sixth inning as the Bulldogs topped the Monarchs in six innings.

Centennial loaded the bases on walks to start the inning and had just two hits in the sixth.

Love was 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBIs, and Ava Dolan went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Centennial.

Centennial 8, Central Union (Calif.) 0 — Jennifer Cerrone spun a two-hitter as the Bulldogs downed the Spartans in six innings.

Lina Barrera was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, and teammate Brianna Benoit went 2-for-3 with a double for Centennial. Love tripled and had two RBIs for the Bulldogs.

Shadow Ridge 14, Garfield (Calif.) 0 — Shelbi Denman tossed a four-inning no-hitter to lead the Mustangs by the Bulldogs.

Shadow Ridge scored eight runs in the second inning to put the game away.

Shadow Ridge 6, Riverton (Utah) 4 — Caitlyn Covington homered, and the Mustangs built a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning before holding off the Silverwolves in six innings.

Shadow Ridge joined Centennial as the only Nevada teams to go 2-0 on the tournament’s opening day.

Green Valley 22, Bell (Calif.) 3 — Tyre Hilton went 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs as the Gators routed the Eagles in six innings.

Samantha Loving was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Allie Lamb went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs for Green Valley, which scored 15 runs in the sixth inning.

Alexa Blazek was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Katrina Ramos went 3-for-6 with an RBI for the Gators.

Dafne Bravo was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs for Bell.

Kennedy (Calif.) 9, Green Valley 1 — Tiare LaPorte homered and had three RBIs, and the Cougars used a nine-run fourth inning to down the Gators in five innings.

Laura Morales was 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI for Kennedy.

Basic 8, Lincoln County 4 — Alyssa Ferguson was 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs to help the Wolves defeat the Lynx in six innings.

Sanoe Helenini was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI, and teammate Hannah Barr was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Basic.

Lincoln County’s Kia Phillips went 2-for-3 with two doubles, and Alisha Rowe went 2-for-2 for the Lynx.

Southwest (Calif.) 7, Basic 3 — Frida Moreno went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI to help the Eagles defeat the Wolves.

Helenini went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Basic, and teammate Bailey Cunanan was 2-for-3.

Southwest (Calif.) 11, Lincoln County 0 — Iliana Manzano doubled and singled, and the Eagles used a pair of four-run innings to rout the Lynx in five innings.

Durango 2, San Fernando (Calif.) 2 — Durango’s Trinity Valentine tossed a six-inning two-hitter as the Trailblazers tied the Tigers.

Kaitlyn O’Hearn and Brooke Alves both doubled for Durango, which scored twice in the top of the first inning, but gave up two runs in the fifth.

Viviana Castro threw a four-hitter for San Fernando.

Banning (Calif.) 6, Durango 5 — Winning pitcher Leah Gonzales tripled, and the Pilots rallied from a 5-2 second-inning deficit to nip the Trailblazers in five innings.

Valentine threw a two-hitter for Durango, which committed six errors.

Carson (Calif.) 7, Desert Oasis 4 — Alissa Cienfuegos had two doubles to help the Colts down the Diamondbacks in five innings.

Raven Agapay doubled and singled for Carson, which scored four runs in the bottom of the third to break a 3-3 tie.

Gemma Perez had two doubles for Desert Oasis.

Brawley Union (Calif.) 12, Desert Oasis 7 — Savannah Contreras went 3-for-3 to help the Wildcats top the Diamondbacks in five innings.

Perez had two singles, and Morgan Anders homered for Desert Oasis.