It took nearly 48 hours, but in the end the Spanish Springs High softball team were the ones celebrating a regional title on the infield under an overcast sky Monday afternoon at Bishop Manogue. The Cougars completed the 9-3 comeback win over Douglas by scoring nine straight runs after trailing 3-0 in the fourth inning of their game that was postponed due to weather on Saturday and resumed two days later.
The win also locks up the top seed from the North in the upcoming state tournament that begins tomorrow on that same Bishop Manogue field. Spanish Springs will take on Shadow Ridge at 4:30 p.m. from Las Vegas in the second game of the tourney while Douglas will battle Basic High earlier in the day at 2:30 p.m. The winners and losers will both meet Friday with the championship game set for Saturday at 10 a.m. with the “if necessary” game to follow.
Despite its 9-6 win over Reno in the opening round of the tournament, the Cougs struggled to score runs in the next two games. Spanish Springs was able to get by Carson by a score of 2-1 on Friday before sending Douglas to the loser’s bracket later that day with a 4-3 win.
The Cougs relied on their sophomore pitcher Tyra Clary throughout the weekend as she picked up wins in all four games they played. She pitched her team to the title game against Douglas on Friday by going the distance and striking out seven. Rylee Retzer provided most of the offense with a second inning three-run home run.
Clary’s best game of the tournament came earlier that day as she held Carson to just four hits and struck out eight. Retzer also connected with a solo home run in that game as well.
The Cougs saved their best performance for Monday down 3-0 in the fourth inning when Saturday’s game resumed. Aubrey Parks tied the game in the fifth with a two run double before Courtney Huff’s RBI single gave them the lead for good. Retzer hit her third home run in as many games and Clary shut down the Tigers the rest of the way.
The four straight wins improved the Cougs to 30-3 overall. If they can find a way to win three straight more, they will call themselves state champions.
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