Balilea’s home runs ignite Durango win over Desert Oasis

Jaexie Balilea’s senior softball season got off to a slow start.

Durango’s shortstop, a first-team all-state pick as a junior and a UNLV signee, had trouble living up to lofty expectations.
That trouble is far behind her now.

Balilea belted two home runs in the second inning Wednesday, helping the Trailblazers to a 19-3 five-inning win over visiting Desert Oasis.

Coupled with Bonanza’s loss at Clark, Durango (16-7, 12-0 Southwest) has a two-game lead over Bonanza with four games left.

“I realized I was in a slump, and I just needed to focus more,” said Balilea, whose father arrived Monday from his home in Hawaii to see his daughter play. “My dad came from Hawaii, and I wanted to prove that I was playing good.”

Balilea hit .448 with nine homers and 41 RBIs last season. Despite slumping early in the season, she could finish with even better numbers this year.

A 3-for-3 effort Wednesday boosted her average to .475 to go along with seven homers and 26 RBIs.

“The last three games, she’s really relaxed more at the plate, and when she’s relaxed, she hits,” Durango coach Toni Del Toro said.
Balilea wasn’t the only one hitting on Wednesday.

Sam Juarez belted her team-leading 12th and 13th home runs in the fourth inning, giving her a team-high 40 RBIs.

Balilea, Juarez, Mindy Larson and Katie Moore each had three of the Trailblazers’ 19 hits.

Larson also homered in the fourth inning, and Taylor Short would have homered, had a Durango runner not deliberately left first base early to end the inning.

Short tossed a six-hitter, settling in after allowing a homer to Desert Oasis’ Emily Heinz on the game’s second pitch. Heinz had two homers and three RBIs.