The Lady Birds had a tough week last week, dropping all three games they played. They lost a close game at Blue Ridge on Tuesday, then were soundly beaten at home by a very good Show Low team on Friday, before making a long journey to Page on Saturday for another 10-run rule setback.
Tuesday’s game at Blue Ridge could easily have gone Holbrook’s way. They left the bases loaded twice in a one-run 3-4 loss to the Yellowjackets. Blue Ridge took the early lead with a pair of first inning runs. Holbrook cut into that lead with a run in the fourth, then momentarily tied the game in the top of the sixth with another run. Blue Ridge retook the lead with 2 in the bottom of the sixth, then held Holbrook to just 1 run in the top of the seventh.
Alexis Young went 1 for 4, Ava Mann 1 for 3, Elena Philpott 1 for 3 and Arianna Sangster was 1 for 3.
Tamryn Baldonado pitched six innings, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits with 7 strikeouts and walked only 1 Yellowjacket batter.
Tuesday’s home game against second ranked Show Low went about as expected. Holbrook entered this game ranked 14th, but the Cougars are really good this year and they quickly jumped on top with 4 runs in the first inning. Show Low added 2 in the third, and 3 in the fourth before closing the game out with another 3 in the fifth and final innings. Holbrook had a tough time with Show Low’s ace pitcher, Addisyn Clark. Kentrall John was the only Holbrook batter to collect a hit in the game.
Philpott pitched five innings for Holbrook, where she allowed 12 runs on 14 hits with two walks.
Saturday, Holbrook ventured to Page, where they met up with the eighth-ranked Sand Devils. Page took control from the start, scoring 6 in the first and then adding 4 more to lead 10-0 after three innings. Holbrook scored 3 runs in the fourth, but Page closed out the game in five innings with 2 each in the fourth and fifth frames, winning the game 14-3.
With the three losses, Holbrook dropped to 11-10 overall this season. They are now 6-6 in regular-season games and more than likely will be ranked 16th or below when this week’s rankings come out.
Monday, they will have hosted St. Johns, then will stay home to play Blue Ridge on Tuesday. On Friday, they welcome in Winslow. Next Tuesday, the team travels to face Show Low.
