The high school softball squad played three games last week, dropping an April 12 showdown with Payson before falling behind in back-to-back games against the team from Page.

Play continued this past Tuesday with a game against Bourgade Catholic, a team they will play again on the road this Friday, April 23, at 3:45 p.m.

Next Tuesday, April 27, the Falcons will hit the road to take on Camp Verde at 3:45. That will leave just four games in the regular season in the following days, all of which are scheduled to take place on the home field.

Payson

The Falcons took some licks in their April 12 game against Payson. The Longhorn offense found its groove in the second inning with seven runs, going on to earn a 15-0 difference in a run-rule shortened five innings of play.

Kalista Johnson was the only Falcon who manage a hit this outing.

“Payson’s pitcher, at the time of the game, led all levels, 1A-6A, in strikeouts and we found out why,” said head coach Randy Bragg.

Page

This past Saturday, April 17, the Falcons took part in a doubleheader against the Page Sand Devils.

“We played well until the last inning, when our defense made some errors that allowed them to pull away,” Bagg explained. “Our offense is still doing very well and we actually out-hit them in this game, as we had 13 hits including a homerun by Sydney Loyet.”

Bragg added that Loyet is currently at the top of the North Central region with five homeruns on the season.

The Falcons were ahead of Page by a score of 5-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, when the Sand Devils managed to add seven runs to their total and close out the game at 11-5 in the last half-inning of play.

Loyet went 2-3 on the day, with two RBI and a trio of runs scored on top of the homerun Bragg mentioned.

Kimmy Hoys went 4-5 with an RBI while both Michaela Quintana and Mia Duda went 2-5 at the plate.

Page

The second game on the day was another close battle but, instead of a runaway inning to earn the win, Page only managed to top Fountain Hills by a single run, 7-6.

“Another close game until the fifth inning, when we opened the door with some bad defense,” Bragg said. “We did battle back late and had a chance to tie it in the top of the seventh, as we had Mia Duda at third and only one out, but we couldn’t get her in.”

Loyet went 2-3 on the day with an RBI and three runs scored, with Kimmy Hoyt going 1-4 with two RBI. Stella Grieco managed a 2-3 showing at the plate.

“Page is a very strong team and they are currently ranked 10th in the state,” Bragg continued. “I am proud of the way the girls played overall, as our defense at times was stellar and our pitchers were much more efficient in these two games.”