Green Valley star’s arm, bat overwhelm Faith Lutheran — PHOTOS
Green Valley softball coach A.J. Coleman didn’t love his team’s energy on the bus ride to Faith Lutheran on Friday afternoon.
It took the Gators all of five batters to convince him things were going to be just fine.
Green Valley had four consecutive extra-base hits with one out in the first, capped by a two-run homer by Rustie Riley, and the Gators, No. 1 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, rolled to an 11-0, five-inning road win over the No. 3 Crusaders.
“We were on the bus today, and I could tell that there was a weird energy that I wasn’t real happy about,” Coleman said. “We tend to show up to games pretty loose, and I wasn’t seeing what I normally see. So we had a little conversation about it and had to get after them a little bit. But I think they approached that first inning, and things just went well.”
Senior Avari Morris started things off with a one-out double, followed by RBI doubles by Aspyn Beattie and Mikey Morris. Riley then lined a shot over the fence in left-center field for a 4-0 lead, and it was all Gators (19-3, 11-0 Class 5A Desert League) from there against the Crusaders (21-10, 7-5).
“Our top of the lineup is pretty tough to pitch against,” Coleman said. “If we can get a couple runs in that top of the lineup, we set ourselves up for a good situation.”
Especially with Avari Morris in the pitching circle. She went the distance, allowing one hit and two walks. She struck out nine.
“She looked really comfortable,” Coleman said. “She looked really in a groove from the beginning.”
She also was plenty comfortable at the plate, where she went 4-for-4 with three doubles, three runs and two RBIs.
“She’s a monster,” Coleman said. “Avari is a different level player. And she shows it often.”
Avari Morris had an RBI double and Beattie an RBI single in the second to push the lead to 6-0. The Gators then plated five runs in the fifth, highlighted by an RBI single from Brianna Guerrero and an RBI double by Avari Morris.
Avari Morris allowed a leadoff single to McKenna Young in the bottom of the first, but that was the only hit for Faith Lutheran.
The Gators, the defending 5A state champions, won their 19th consecutive game, tying them for No. 5 all time, according to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association record book.
Beattie went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, and Riley was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Gators, who have two regular-season games remaining.
“It’s just a matter of making sure we’re playing the best softball we can going into the playoffs,” Coleman said. “The record doesn’t matter, 19 straight doesn’t matter, first place in the division doesn’t matter if we don’t do what we need to do in the playoffs.”