Casa softball on roll as season nears end

The Casa Grande softball team is headed toward the end of its season on a roll. With just three regular-season games left, the Casa girls have won three straight games and are within a win of a break-even record both in North Bay League play and overall.

Casa Grande beat Ukiah, 7-3, and edged Maria Carrillo, 2-1, last week to improve to 8-9 on the season and 5-6 in North Bay League play.

Against Ukiah, Casa let an early 3-0 lead slip away, but rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, and clinched the win with two more in the sixth.

The Lady Gauchos had 12 hits by eight different batters in the win.

Presley Ruoff collected three of the hits, scored three runs and drove in another. Emily Abel and Kiley Cramer each had two hits.

Freshman Katie Humphreys pitched the win, allowing six hits, walking one, while striking out two.

Humphreys worked three innings in the win over Maria Carrillo, allowing one run and two hits, striking out one. Fellow freshman Katie Machado pitched four innings, allowing three hits but no runs. She walked one and struck out one.

Casa Grande scored two runs in the first inning, and the young pitchers made them stand good.

Casa had just three hits, one each from Alauna Rico, Ruoff and Brooklynne Hale. Rico and Ruoff scored Casa’s first-inning runs. Both were knocked in by Hale.