The Fountain Hills High School softball team won 10-0 over region opponent Camp Verde last Friday, April 8. It had been an entire month since the last non-tournament win for the Falcons, besting Payson 14-4 on March 8, but the Falcons were in high spirts against the Cowboys.

The Falcons beat Camp Verde 12-7 in the Gracie Haught Classic Tournament on March 19, and they knew they could repeat their success this time around. The Falcons set the tone in the first inning when freshman Sammantha Hughes hit a double with two outs and brought sophomore Hailey Chandler and junior Mia Duda in to score.

“It definitely started the momentum,” Hughes said. “Especially because most of our hits came when we had two outs. That’s how our rallies would start…It feels great because we’ve been slacking on hitting. When we come out and hit, that’s what it’s going to do.”

Hughes only had her one hit and two RBIs because she was walked each of her next three at bats. After one of those walks, Hughes stole second base, beat a pickle from the catcher, and stole home all in the same play.

Chandler had two RBIs and a team high four hits. Duda and senior Kalista Johnson also added one RBI.

The Falcons scored two more runs in the second, then three runs each in the fourth and sixth innings. Senior pitcher Nicolette Barker was on fire, throwing two strikeouts and one walk, and she got great defensive help all around the field.

Chandler and fellow sophomore Stella Grieco found the ball often, and freshman Jordan Marcello had a great day in an unfamiliar position.

Marcello has played outfield all season, but she played third base on Friday in place of a sick senior, Michaela Quintana. Marcello didn’t replicate the inside-the-park home run that Quintana hit in the 9-6 loss to Wickenburg on Tuesday, April 5, but Marcello did get two outs in the fourth inning. Marcello also nearly completed a double play that would’ve gotten all three outs in that inning.

“It was different, but I think what got me up was the team, keeping the energy up and they kept me in it,” Marcello said. “Even though I struck out, I let that blow past me, because when you get it into the field, it brings you down. It brings the whole team down. So, got to stay positive.”

Freshman Shania Rivera also made a great defensive play in the fifth inning. The Falcons didn’t have many errors on Friday, but almost all of them happened on the same play. What probably should’ve been a pop fly turned into a triple, and had Rivera not ran up to the infield to pick up and throw the ball to home, the Cowboys would’ve scored an inside-the-park home run.

According to the players and head coach Lawrence Hughes, the energy was much better against Camp Verde than any other recent game.

“Just the morale, honestly,” Hughes said. “Kids were backing each other up and it came together. They actually talked and communicated, and they came out hungry. It’s what they needed, and nice to do it in the hometown.”

The Falcons said that Tuesday’s loss at Wickenburg was a case of them not being down on themselves. Still, they made it close by scoring three runs in the final inning against the Wranglers.

The Falcons know more of what they are capable of, and they want to carry their momentum forward. They feel confident ahead of Chino Valley. The Falcons lost 8-6 the first time they played the Cougars, but they are in a better position now. The Falcons hosted Chino Valley yesterday, Tuesday, April 12.

The Falcons travel to Bourgade Catholic today, Wednesday, April 13, and play at 3:45 p.m. The Falcons will get nearly a week to prepare for No. 5 Northwest Christian, hosting them next Tuesday, April 19, at 3:45 p.m. at Fountain Hills Middle School.

“Sometimes, when a bad play happens or someone strikes out, you can see it on their face,” Marcello said on Friday. “It just doesn’t bring a good energy, so what we’ve got to do is keep each other up. That’s the main thing we did this game that we haven’t. We kept each other up and I think it really helped.”