Dakota Ridge senior Caryle Levy pitched a four-hit shutout against Pomona. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LITTLETON — Dakota Ridge softball has pretty good timing.
The Eagles started off the season with a rough 2-7 start, but a six-game winning streak has Dakota Ridge soaring into a head-to-head battle for first-place in the Class 5A Jeffco League. Dakota Ridge (8-7, 4-0 in league) travels to Arvada to face Ralston Valley (8-7, 5-0) at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the winner taking the driver’s seat in the conference race.
“We want it so bad,” Dakota Ridge senior Melissa Mages said of a conference title. “We feel like this is our year. It’s going to come down to that game.”
While Saturday’s could decide the league champion, Pomona (7-9, 2-3) did its best Thursday, Sept. 29, to put a stop to the Eagles’ winning steak and end the Panthers’ own skid. Dakota Ridge received stellar pitching performance from senior Caryle Levy and the Eagles were able to get a couple of key two-out hits to grab a 2-0 victory.
“We need what we are doing now in the worst way, especially with the way we started,” Dakota Ridge coach Marvin Van Lingren said. “This is big for us. It’s not over. We’ve got a couple more key games.”
Pomona’s Abriana Ramirez forces out Dakota Ridge’s Faith Lawson at third base. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
It wasn’t over until Levy struck out her six batter in the top of the seven inning with the tying run at the plate for the Panthers to seal the four-hit, complete-game shutout.
Levy had a no-hitter going through four innings, but the Panthers made things interesting in the seventh.
Senior Gracie Cordova, one of the top power hitters in the state, ripped a leadoff double to start the seventh with the Eagles holding on to a 2-0 lead.
Fortunately for Dakota Ridge, a two-out double by Mages in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the Eagles a much-needed insurance run with Cordova coming up.
Junior Alexis Blatner had given the Eagles a 1-0 lead with a two-out single in the bottom of the second inning.
“That run was very important,” Levy said of Mages’ double in the sixth. “It took a lot of weight off my shoulders.”
Pomona senior Abriana Ramirez ripped her second single of the game with Cordova on second base. However, a good throw from Dakota Ridge centerfielder Jordyn Baca cut down Cordova at the plate to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard. Levy struck out the next batter in Pomona junior Destiny Maes to end the game.
“She (Levy) is obviously a pretty good pitcher. We just could never get comfortable,” Pomona coach Jim Biddle said. “She moved the ball real well on us. We couldn’t get that key hit when we needed it.”
After the loss, Pomona dropped to No. 34 in the RPI rankings. The Panthers are clearly on the bubble to make the 32-team regional field for the postseason. Pomona closes its conference schedule against Lakewood (10 a.m. Saturday) and Arvada West (4:30 p.m. Wednesday).
“We can’t afford anymore losses,” Biddle said. “League wins are tough to get.”
Thursday’s conference game for Dakota Ridge started a string of three games in three days. The Eagles have a break from league play when it hosts Mullen at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, before the showdown with Ralston Valley.
“We haven’t beat Ralston Valley in the last three years, I think,” Van Lingren said. “Every game that we played them was a tight game. This next one won’t be any different.”
The Eagles finish league play at home against Arvada West at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 7.
Dakota Ridge senior Kacey Valerio prepares to take off from second base during the Eagles’ sixth straight win. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)