Wheat Ridge senior Jacquelyn Miller is tagged out at home plate by Ralston Valley junior Rylie Strong (3) during the fourth inning Wednesday at Ralston Valley High School. Miller was attempting to score on a wild pitch. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — It was an old-fashioned pitching duel through four innings Wednesday at Ralston Valley High School’s softball field.
Defending Class 4A state champion Wheat Ridge, ranked No. 2 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 4A softball rankings, was locked in a scoreless non-league game with Ralston Valley. The Mustangs are ranked No. 8 in 5A.
“It’s always fun when two teams are competing and it’s three-up, three-down,” Wheat Ridge sophomore pitcher Riley Scott said.
Wheat Ridge junior Ann Marie Torres connects on a pitch in the first inning Wednesday. Torres had a pair of doubles in the Farmers’ 6-1 victory against Ralston Valley. (Dennis Pleuss)
The Farmers’ offense came alive late with a pair of three-run innings in the fifth and seven to eventually claim a 6-1 victory. Scott picked up her fourth victory in the circle allowing just an RBI single by Ralston Valley sophomore Sydney Harsh in the bottom of the fifth inning that broke up her shutout.
Scott has appeared to solidify herself as the Farmers’ ace after Wheat Ridge coach Marty Stricklett began the season using a combo of five different pitchers.
“She (Scott) is throwing strikes and living low. That is the key to being a pitcher,” Stricklett said of Scott, who didn’t surrender an extra-base hit Wednesday afternoon. “You have to live low. She is doing a good job for us as a sophomore.”
Wheat Ridge’s offense failed to capitalize on a pair of situations in the third and fourth innings. The Farmers (6-2) had runners at second and third with no outs, but Ralston Valley junior pitcher Rylie Strong was able to work out of the jams on both occasions without giving up a run.
“I thought Rylie (Strong) did a pretty good job. Our defense did fairly well behind her,” Ralston Valley coach Wendy Davies said. “We just for some reason didn’t hit the ball well today.”
The Farmers’ offense finally broke through with a two-out RBI single up the middle by senior Analece Apodaca in the top of the fifth inning. Wheat Ridge senior Grace White roped an RBI triple and eventually scored on a throwing error to give Wheat Ridge a 3-0 lead.
“It was huge,” Scott said of White’s triple. “We really needed some hits. Our team was struggling with our bats and we needed something to get us going.”
Wheat Ridge tacked on some insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning. White, along with fellow seniors Jacquelyn Miller and Mary Sand, each knocked in a run to push the Farmers’ lead to 6-1.
Ralston Valley junior pitcher Rylie Strong held Wheat Ridge’s powerful offense in check for the majority of the non-league game Wednesday. However, the Farmers mustered up a pair of three-run inning to take a 6-1 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
Despite the victory, Stricklett wasn’t too pleased with a few fielding and mental errors.
“You’ve got to go through a gauntlet if you want to get to where you want to be,” Stricklett said of the Farmers’ tough non-league schedule that includes a date against top-ranked Fredrick next Tuesday. “The girls are going to have to pick it up a notch. We have played a lot of tough teams, but it’s going to get a lot tougher from here on out.”
Ralston Valley (6-3) will get a crack at the defending 5A state champions when the Mustangs face Legacy at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Davies hopes to get her team a little healthier as the 5A Jeffco League schedule kicks into gear in less than two weeks. The Mustangs have been dealing with several injuries. Starting shortstop Malory Eldredge had to leave Wednesday’s game and didn’t return.
“We are trying to make it work with people in different positions,” Davies said. “We just need to have a practice where we have everybody in the same spot because it has changed every day.”
Wheat Ridge sophomore Riley Scott winds up for a pitch Wednesday afternoon in a non-league game against Ralston Valley. Scott scattered seven singles in the Farmers’ 6-1 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)