The high school softball squad went 1-2 last week, winning a close battle against Valley Christian bookended by losses to Chino Valley.

Play continued Monday, April 12, with a road game against Payson and will continue this Saturday, April 17, with a road doubleheader against the Page Sand Devils. The first game is scheduled for 12 noon with the second taking place at 2 p.m.

The Lady Falcons will be back on the home field next Tuesday, April 20, for a 3:45 p.m. showdown against the Bourgade Catholic Golden Eagles.

Chino Valley

The Lady Falcons’ week began with a home game against Chino Valley on April 6.

The Falcons and the Cougars front-loaded the game with all of the offensive highlights, with Chino Valley outpacing Fountain Hills in the first three innings at 4-2, 3-2, 5-1, respectively. Nobody crossed the plate for the final four innings, ending the game at 12-5 in favor of the Cougars.

“We hit the ball well, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the offense of Chino Valley,” said head coach Randy Bragg.

Michaela Quintana went 1-4 at the plate with 2 RBI and a homerun. Kimmy Hoys went 3-4 with a run scored while Sydney Loyet went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Mia Duda also went 2-4 with a run scored. 

Valley Christian

The Falcons welcomed Valley Christian to the home field on April 8 and, after a bit of a slow start, managed to battle back to earn their first win of the season, 11-10.

“Valley was up 7-0 going into the bottom of the third and then the girls started to climb back into it,” Bragg said. “Sydney Loyet had an amazing game at the plate. She had two homeruns and five RBI. She drove in the tying runs with a well-hit ball that was nearly her third homerun of the game. She then came around to score the winning run when Michaela Quintana singled up the middle.”

Kimmy Hoyt added to the offensive effort, going 3-4 with three runs scored. Michaela Quintana went 1-5 on the day with 3 RBI while Sydney Loyet managed a 3-4 showing with two homeruns, a double, 5 RBI and four runs scored.

Chino Valley

The following day, April 9, found the Falcons on the road for another chance to take on the Chino Valley Cougars. The game was in Chino’s favor, 3-2, heading into the bottom of the third, when they scored another four runs to move out of the Falcons’ reach. The Cougars continued to outpace the Falcons until the 14-6 conclusion.

According to Bragg, the Lady Falcons had trouble keeping their head in the game.

“We really struggled with mental errors in this game,” he said. “This, unfortunately, extended innings and kept us from ever bouncing back like we did against Valley Christian.

“We still hit the ball well. Sydney Loyet is really hitting the ball well right now and Michaela Quintana had another good game offensively.”

Loyet went 4-4 with two runs scored this outing while Quintana managed a 3-4 showing with an RBI and three runs scored. Mia Duda wrapped up the offensive highlights with a 2-4 showing and an RBI.