The Giroy Hotshots, a local 12-under travel softball team, went
to Salinas on April 26 and claimed their third tournament
victory.
SALINAS – The Giroy Hotshots, a local 12-under travel softball team, went to Salinas on April 26 and claimed their third tournament victory. The latest triumph also gave them their second NSA Qualifier Tournament coming off their last USSSA Qualifier Tournament win.
In the opening game, starting pitcher Lauryn Chris held the Salinas Rockets to only one run to lead the locals to a 6-1 victory.
Gilroy took the lead in the first frame and never looked back. Vanessa Wilkins got on with a single and scored by utilizing her speed – stealing second, third and home to socre first. With two outs, Nicole Arce worked a base-on-balls and stole second to move into scoring position. Teammate Angelica Galindo then belted an RBI double to score Arce. Up next, Chris singled home Galindo and ended up at third after stealing consecutive bases.
The inning was kept alive when walks to Jasmine Perez and Danielle Miller loaded the bases up for Emily Haygood – who grounded to short and reached base on an error that allowed Chris to score from third. All 10 Hotshots stepped to the plate in the inning.
The Hotshots followed up with one run in the second inning as Brittany Balanesi tripled and then scored on a sacrifice by Melinda Ortiz. Gilroy added a sixth run in the third inning to seal the opening win.
After dropping their second game to the San Jose Sizzle by a 7-2 spread, the Hotshots – determined to get a high seed for the championship rounds – rebounded with a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over the Salinas Wildcats.
The Hotshots were shut down through the first three innings – sending only 11 batters to plate and staring at a one-run deficit. But the locals still had plenty of time to strike. Balanesi, who also got the win on the hill, sparked her team by reaching on an error and proceeding to steal second base. Arce followed with a run-scoring single to tie up the game and, after moving to second on the throw home, was singled home by Galindo – who was then sacrificed over to third on Laura Spellman’s bunt. Perez sacrificed Arce home to give Gilroy a two-run advantage that held up.
Coming into Sunday’s single-game elimination rounds as the number two seed, the Hotshots avenged an earlier loss to the Sizzle by coming out 5-1 winners. With a solid pitching performance by Chris and flawless defense behind her, Gilroy advanced to the championship game against the Monterey Mad Dogs.
In the championship game, Chris gave way to Balanesi after one inning, and the Hotshots were just getting started.
In the second inning, Galindo singled and Chris got on base with a bunt down the first-base line. Galindo and Chris both scored on the efforts of Ortiz, Miller and Haygood.
The Hotshots followed with a three-run third frame. Wilkins led off with a single and Amanda Spellmen doubled. Arce and Ortiz both singled to account for three runs. Gilroy scored once more in the fifth inning for a total of six runs.
The defense stayed solid – committing only one error and not allowing any runs behind the strong pitching of Balanesi.
The win in Salinas made it the second NSA Qualifier Tournament win for the Hotshots, assuring them a berth at the Western World Series in Modesto in July. The Hotshots next tournament will be May 10-11 in Stockton.
