CHARGER INVITE: Nelson is pitch perfect in Wildcats’ tourney opener

Officially, Kristina Nelson couldn’t be credited with a perfect game Monday.

In reality, though, the Las Vegas senior pitcher couldn’t have been any better.

Nelson came on in relief and struck out all nine batters she faced as the Wildcats held on for a 4-2, five-inning win over Spring Valley in their opening game of the Charger Invitational softball tournament at Big League Dreams Sports Park.

“They couldn’t touch her,” Las Vegas coach Kelly Lindahl said. “We needed her to come in and shut them down, and she did.”

The win helped the Wildcats (8-4) finish first in their pool Monday, and Spring Valley (6-2) was second.

With Las Vegas leading 3-1 in the third inning, Spring Valley put runners at the corners with nobody out, and Nelson was summoned to replace fellow senior Brooke Booth in the circle.

The Grizzlies executed a double steal on Nelson’s first pitch, with Jina Miyamoto coming home.

Nelson, though, struck out Martinese Robertson and Georgi DeLio on riseballs and Ellie Endsley on an 0-2 curve to end the threat.

Nelson struck out the side on 10 pitches in the fourth and needed 12 pitches to repeat the feat in the fifth. In all, Nelson threw 29 of 35 pitches for strikes.

Lindahl has used Nelson more in relief this season than last when the two pitchers’ roles often were reversed.

“We’re still trying to find our way,” Lindahl said. “We’re just trying something different.”

The Wildcats scored two unearned runs in the first and tacked on another in the second. Sam Taylor’s two-out home run in the fourth provided extra cushion. Taylor went 2-for-3 and was the only player on either team with more than one hit.

Robertson took the loss despite allowing only one earned run in four innings.

Las Vegas 2, Madison (Calif.) 1 — Nelson tossed a two-hitter and struck out nine in the Wildcats’ final game of the day.

Taylor was 2-for-3 with a run scored for Las Vegas.

Independence (Calif.) 2, Las Vegas 1 — The Falcons withstood a late rally by the Wildcats and held on for a six-inning win.

Taylor was 2-for-3 with a double for Las Vegas.

Spring Valley 4, Madison (Calif.) 3 — Freshman Michaela Hood picked up the first of two wins as the Grizzlies rallied past the Warhawks.

Spring Valley used a three-run fifth to back Hood.

Spring Valley 3, Independence (Calif.) 2 — DeLio had a run-scoring single in the fifth inning as the Grizzlies held off the Falcons.

DeLio led Spring Valley with two RBIs, and Endsley added the other.

Ashlee Coate pitched four strong innings before giving things over to Hood.

Arbor View 4, Cathedral Catholic (Calif.) 1 — Letty Valenzuela scattered eight hits over seven innings to help the Aggies top Cathedral Catholic.

Kayla Stephens was 2-for-3 with two doubles, and Karli Lehr, Valenzuela and Marissa Bachman all went 2-for-3 with a double for Arbor View.

Arbor View 5, Taft (Calif.) 0 — Ashlyn Ames tossed a five-inning four-hitter as the Aggies topped Taft.

Lehr was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Dacia Sykes and Ames each went 2-for-3 for Arbor View, which got a three-run home run from Bachman.

Imperial (Calif.) 14, Arbor View 2 — Imperial scored in every inning en route to a five-inning win over the Aggies.

Sykes and Kellie Anderson each had a double for Arbor View.

Liberty 6, Lincoln (Calif.) 5 — The Patriots broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the top of the fifth, then held on to beat the Tigers in a five-inning game.

Kaitlyn Phillips tripled, and Adara Leyba doubled for Liberty, which had four hits.

Wilsonville (Ore.) 5, Liberty 1 — Wilsonville broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the bottom of the third and beat the Patriots in five innings.

Felicia Rivera’s triple was one of four Liberty hits.

Mater Dei (Calif.) 3, Liberty 0 — Alexis Morales tossed a two-hitter, and the Monarchs turned in a triple play in their win over the Patriots.

Morales surrendered a double to Leyba and a triple to Rivera on her way to the complete game.

The Patriots did threaten in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with one out. However, Morales got a pair of strikeouts to end the contest.

Desert Oasis 14, Eldorado 2 — Raina Ladislao and Sammi Caruso had two hits each as the Diamondbacks stopped the Sundevils.

C.J. Wilson picked up the win, yielding six hits. Desert Oasis broke the game open with a six-run second inning.

El Capitan (Calif.) 10, Desert Oasis 2 — The Vaqueros scored four runs in each of the first two innings to defeat the Diamondbacks.

Wilson had a double for Desert Oasis, which had just three hits.

Granada Hills (Calif.) 5, Desert Oasis 0 — Morgan Ebow allowed just one single as the Highlanders downed the Diamondbacks.

Ashlee Vasquez drove in a pair of runs for Granada Hills, which used a four-run third to take control.

Granada Hills (Calif.) 14, Eldorado 2 — Natalie Peterson fanned seven and scattered four hits as the Highlanders turned back the Sundevils.

Irene Rivera led Granada Hills’ 15-hit attack with a pair of doubles.

El Capitan (Calif.) 7, Eldorado 0 — Delanie Gourley tossed a six-inning one-hitter and struck out 15 as El Capitan topped the Sundevils.

Keelyn Pacheco’s double was the Sundevils’ lone hit.

Chaparral 6, Tech 4 — Despite allowing three unearned runs in the final inning, the Cowboys finally made the last out to earn the win over the Roadrunners.

Chaparral broke a 1-1 tie with five runs in the fourth, then survived a Tech rally.

Jordyn Roark had the lone extra-base hit for Tech.

Brawley Union (Calif.) 8, Chaparral 2 — The Wildcats had 11 hits en route to their win over the Cowboys.

Chaparral was limited to only five hits, led by Cheyenne Huntsman’s double. Chaparral committed three costly errors.

North Hollywood (Calif.) 12, Chaparral 4 — The Huskies scored seven runs in the top of the first inning and cruised by the Cowboys in five innings.

Lauren Lesniak was 1-for-3 with two RBIs for Chaparral.

North Hollywood (Calif.) 15, Tech 0 — Breanne Jackson had four RBIs as the Huskies defeated the Roadrunners.

The Huskies dominated from the outset, scoring five runs in the opening inning.

Brawley Union (Calif.) 11, Tech 2 — Brawley scored three runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead for good and downed the Roadrunners in five innings.

Austyn Dziewit doubled for Tech, which committed eight errors.

Bishop Gorman 7, Birmingham (Calif.) 2 — Machenzie Tucky and Ashley Witucki each drove in a pair of runs, and the Gaels topped the Patriots.

Gorman scored two runs in the bottom of the first to erase a 1-0 deficit. Casey Nelson scattered three hits in the victory.

Carson (Calif.) 3, Bishop Gorman 2 — The Colts held on to nip the Gaels in a five-inning game.
Witucki was 2-for-2 with two doubles for Gorman.

Valhalla (Calif.) 7, Bishop Gorman 3 — Valhalla scored three runs in the top of the first and never looked back en route to a five-inning win over the Gaels.

Witucki was 2-for-3, and Dayton Yingling homered for Gorman.

Southwest (Calif.) 7, Cimarron-Memorial 1 — Kaitlen Williams had two hits, including a home run, as the Eagles turned back the Spartans.

Southwest had only four hits, but all were for extra bases. Williams added a triple in a four-run fourth inning.

Banning (Calif.) 7, Cimarron-Memorial 1 — Banning two-hit the Spartans to run away with the victory.

Sabrina Chavez and Kayla Johnson each had a hit for Cimarron.

Hilltop (Calif.) 8, Cimarron-Memorial 7 — The Lancers scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to nip the Spartans in five innings.

Sarah Murphy was 2-for-2 and scored three runs for Cimarron.

Poly (Calif.) 15, Clark 0 — The Parrots hit five doubles in a 10-run first inning and routed the Chargers.

Mar Vista (Calif.) 18, Clark 0 — Mar Vista scored 14 runs in the final two innings to pull away from the Chargers in a four-inning game.

Calexico (Calif.) 16, Clark 0 — Calexico used an eight-run second inning on its way to a four-inning win over the Chargers.

Shelby Frank was 2-for-2 for Clark.