Prep softball: Timely hitting, dominant pitching send Clovis to its 11th section title
Championships keep piling up for the Clovis High softball team.
The Cougars defeated Central 2-0 in the Central Section Division I final Saturday night at Margie Wright Diamond.
Clovis won its 11th section title, according to section historian Bob Barnett.
“I told them for the rest of their lives they are Valley champions,” said Clovis coach Mike Noel, who’s led the Cougars to nine section titles. “It’s a special thing. I did it in high school when I was a football player. We still meet and talk about the memories in what we did as a team and they’re going to do that for the rest of their lives. It’s a special thing, something they earned and should be very proud about.”
Ashley Rocha provided the spark when she had a run-scoring triple in the bottom of the third inning for a 1-0 lead.
Noel said her clutch hitting paved the way for his Cougars all season: “Carried us offensively for a long time. She’s a little girl, but she has a pop and surprises people at times and she did that tonight. Big hit for us and got momentum on our side and I think it broke things open.”
That was all ace pitcher Lauryn Carranco would need as she went the distance with six strikeouts and a two-hitter. Carranco didn’t give up a run in the postseason.
“It’s kind of hard to lose when someone is doing that,” Noel said. “She’s been dynamite all year and we rode her back a long time, and when we needed her the most she’s at her best.”
Carranco said it was “super surreal” to win a section championship, but a 6-3 loss to Clovis North in the section title game last season still stuck with the team.
She made sure that wasn’t going to happen again.
“We knew we would be back here,” she said. “We just worked hard and we got the outcome we wanted. It’s a great note to end my senior year.”
Central roster: Mia Gaitan, Arissah Garza, Kendra Hodges, Emma Schofield, Alexis Rossotti, Miranda Reyes, Hailey Pettus, Maggie Fleischmann, Cici Frazel, Myah Zuniga, Amara Klein, Alina Avila-Gomez, Mia Nishikawa, Ella Bakholdin, Riley Van Patten, Mia Traylor, Gabi Ramirez, Kamana Powell, Jayden Ramos, Bella Palma, Kamielle Powell
Clovis roster: Ashley Rocha, Taylor Johnson, Brooke Brazill, Sarah Azzarello, Emma Swenson, Celeste Wyman, Lauryn Carranco, Sierra Vargas, Sveva Sweeney, Paige Bristol, Leila Frazier, Skye Verdugo, Gracie Carpenter, Kaylynn Munoz, Maddy Henson
This story was originally published May 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
