Prep Softball: Granite Hills outslugs Barstow in a Desert Sky League battle for 1st place

In a game that featured two high-powered offenses, the most memorable and game-changing play would naturally come from the defense.

By the top of the sixth inning of Thursday’s matchup between the Barstow and Granite Hills softball teams, 20 runs combined crossed the plate. The two teams entered unbeaten in Desert Sky League action and atop the standings.

Granite Hills led Barstow 11-9 after four lead changes and a total of six home runs. The pressure was on for both teams as the Aztecs loaded the bases with two outs. Barstow’s Brooke Miller was at the plate after singling in her last at-bat.

Miller drove a pitch into right-center field and Kathryn McCartney quickly followed the ball.

“I’m thinking she has to get there, somebody has to get there,” Granite Hills head coach Don Shaub said about McCartney, the center fielder.

With the ball hit deep and flying over the right field wall frequently throughout the game, McCartney was not sure she was going to get to it.

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McCartney ran toward the ball, laid out, and made the diving catch for the third out. She got up screaming in excitement just like the rest of the team did.

“I was just so excited. I could not believe I got to that,” McCartney said.

It proved to be the game-saving play as Granite Hills closed out the seventh inning to beat Barstow for the first time since 2021 and take control of first place in the standings.

Offense on display

An offensive shootout between the two league rivals was to be expected heading into the game. Barstow entered on a four-game winning streak, averaging 8.2 runs a game this season. Granite Hills, now on a six-game winning streak, entered averaging 10.75 runs a game.

The teams proved this by the end of the first inning when both Barstow’s Mariah Rodriguez and Granite Hills’ Emily Marks hit two-run home runs for their respective teams.

The second inning was more of the same as Barstow put up three runs and Granite Hills followed with three runs, including a home run by Mylie Shepard.

The Cougars gained the lead with a Mariah Maestas home run but Barstow quickly tied the game. Rodriguez gave the Aztecs a three-run cushion with her second home run of the game.

A full inning passed with no runs scored until Granite Hills came up in the bottom of the fifth. Jazmine Gonzalez started the inning with a single to center field. After already hitting a home run earlier in the game, Marks came up to the plate just looking for a base hit to keep the line moving.

“I’m just hoping to get a base hit and try and get them in. I don’t really shoot for home runs, I just try to shoot for base hits but it happens,” Marks said.

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Marks smacked the ball over the left field fence and pulled the Cougars within a run.

Shortly after, Granite Hills took the 11-9 lead on a two-run single by Alina Salgado.

‘Hyped and hungry’

On Tuesday, Granite Hills pulled off a big 7-5 win over AAE, one of the top teams in the High Desert.

With the school currently on spring break, and with the rest of their league schedule to follow, practice on Wednesday was scheduled just to be batting practice.

Following the success the team has had recently and the opportunity to compete for the Desert Sky League title, Shaub says the team is hyped and hungry this season. The team was not satisfied with just batting practice before their big game against Barstow.

“That morning I got up, I had probably seven texts from different players telling, ‘Coach we want to get ready for Barstow. We need to have a full practice and we need to work hard,’” Shaub said. “We came out here yesterday and it was hot but they worked their butts off.”

Top Performers

Emily Marks, Granite Hills — 3-for-4 with two home runs, one double, three RBIs and three runs.

Jazmine Gonzalez, Granite Hills — 3-for-4 with two runs.

Mariah Maestas, Granite Hills — 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and one run.

Mariah Rodriguez, Barstow — 4-for-4 with two home runs, five RBIs and two runs.

Riley Purdy, Barstow — 3-for-4 with one double, two RBIs and one run.

Alyssa Ramsey, Barstow — 2-for-3 with one double, two RBIs and two runs.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Prep Softball: Granite Hills tops Barstow in a first-place showdown