Lady Rams reach finals of St. Mike's Invitational
Apr. 6—SANTA FE — Portales High's softball team has had a fairly easy path to the finals of the eight-team St. Michael's Invitational.
After rolling to a quick win over Zuni in Thursday's quarterfinals, the Lady Rams jumped on Santa Fe Indian for 10 runs in the first two innings in Friday's semifinals to post a 13-3 win. Portales (7-4) was slated to face Santa Fe High — a team it beat 12-1 last weekend — in Saturday's championship clash.
PHS posted a six-run first against the Lady Braves, highlighted by a bases-loaded triple from eighth-grader Amaya Lujan. The Lady Rams added four in the second with two-run homers from junior Dawci Cordova and sophomore Maria Lujan, the latter an inside-the-park blast.
SFIS (7-2) stayed alive briefly with two runs in the top of the fifth, making it 11-3, but the Lady Rams ended it on the 10-run rule with two in the bottom half.
Junior Angel Ornelas went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and a run scored. Freshman Addyson Mayberry was 2-for-3 with a two-run triple, a run scored and a walk, while Amaya and Maria Lujan both finished the contest 2-for-3.
Freshman Annaleah Lujan allowed three hits and two earned runs over the five innings, with seven walks and eight strikeouts. Junior Abrielle Herrera was 2-for-2 for SFIS, scoring once and driving in a pair.
Portales 23, Zuni 0 (Thursday) — The Lady Rams scored 18 runs in the first and wrapped up their quarterfinal win over the Lady Thunderbirds (2-7) in 2 1/2 innings on the 15-run rule.
Cordova went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, four RBIs and two runs scored while Ornelas hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first and went 2-for-2 with a double and scored twice. She was also hit by a pitch twice.
Annaleah Lujan pitched a three-inning no-hitter, walking one and striking out six, and also went 2-for-2 at the plate, scoring twice and driving in a run while drawing a walk. Maria Lujan drove in four runs with a three-run triple and a bases loaded walk.
