I-A SOFTBALL: Boulder City rallies to clinch berth at state

Boulder City was six out away from having its softball season end at home on Friday at the Division I-A Southern Region tournament.

The Eagles trailed by three against Sierra Vista junior Kalei Watkins, who had allowed just three hits through the first five innings.

But Boulder City rallied in a big way, and senior pitcher Charlene Masterson turned in a big-time performance as the Eagles won two games to punch the final ticket to next week’s state tournament.

The Eagles defeated Sierra Vista, 6-5, then downed Faith Lutheran 5-2 to move on.

Boulder City (29-8) meets Spring Valley (24-3) at noon Saturday for the region championship. The Eagles need two wins against the Grizzlies to grab the title. But both teams are headed to Reno next week for state.

“Its an amazing feeling, this is the only thing I wanted for my birthday is for these girls to make state,” said a very emotional Boulder City coach Angelica Moorhead. “What an awesome thing these girls pulled off today against two quality teams. They deserve to go to Reno.”

With the Eagles trailing 5-2 and Masterson on first in the sixth, Lily Osman hit a liner that caught Watkins on the lower right side of her face. Moments later, Watkins left the field under her own power for medical treatment.

While Watkins was getting treated, Boulder City’s bats came to life.

The Eagles got back-to-back singles from Jerra Hinson and Bryanna Lopez to make it 5-4. Sierra Vista reliever Harmony Dominguez got the next two hitters before Kylee Hamel drilled a two-run single to center to give the Eagles the lead.

Following Hamel’s hit, Watkins returned to the game to get the final out of the sixth for Sierra Vista (23-7). Watkins went to an area hospital following the game for further treatment.

Masterson, who threw 100 pitches in the opener, allowed four hits and struck out seven.

“She’s (Masterson) a machine,” said Moorhead. “She wanted the ball and after the first game there was no question she wanted to throw against Faith.”

In the second game, Masterson scattered nine singles as the Eagles eliminated the Crusaders (27-10) with the 5-2 win.

“We knew what we needed to do today,” Masterson said. “We kept our cool and never doubted that we could win. Even in the sixth inning of the first game, we knew what we had to do.”

The Eagles scored all five runs in the first three innings against Faith Lutheran, and Masterson did the rest. The Crusaders did have chances against Masterson, but left nine runners on base.

Carmel and Osman each had two hits for Boulder City. Mosie Foley drove in both runs for Faith Lutheran.