Thornton – The way Horizon softball coach Tim Dake sees things, there are three distinct levels in the Class 5A Front Range League.
His Hawks are solidly in the second tier, and Rocky Mountain is at the top of the top.
The Lobos, No. 1 in The Denver Post/9News poll, showed as much with a dominant 13-0 league victory in five innings Thursday at Horizon.
“We just hit the ball,” said Rocky Mountain pitcher Cory Berliner, who did not allow No. 7 Horizon to do the same.
Berliner, who is 9-0 this season with 98 strikeouts, tossed a one-hitter – Alicia Gonzalez’s single in the bottom of the second inning- and had no worries after the Lobos scored 10 runs in the top half of the same frame.
Rocky Mountain (14-0 overall, 3-0 league) loaded the bases right away in the second and started reeling off run after run, racking up a 5-0 lead before Horizon (9-5, 1-2) recorded an out.
The Hawks’ starting pitcher, Adrian Mohr, looked good in the first inning, retiring three straight batters after giving up a single. But a back injury forced Mohr out of the game in the second inning as the Lobos started to pile on.
Lobos catcher Maureen McDaniel went 2-for-2 with an RBI, center fielder Rachel Cavallaro finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and Sarah Curry drove in a run and scored two more.
“It was a surprise that it was this lopsided,” Rocky Mountain coach Mike Crockett said. “Horizon is a very good team, so this was not expected.
“We’ve bonded as a team, but I am fearful of us sitting back too much. We have to stay on the balls of our feet, because everybody is going to be gunning for us.”
Rocky Mountain 0(10)2 01 – 13 12 2
Horizon 000 00 – 0 1 3
Rocky Mountain – Cavallaro cf 4-0-2-1, Trujillo rf 3-1-1-2, MacIntyre 2b 3-1-1-0, C. Gonzalez 1b 3-2-1-1, Winsor ss 2-3-1-0, McDaniel c 2-0-2-1, Curry 3b 3-2-1-1, Berliner p 2-0-1-1, Maul lf 1-1-1-1, Gleiforst dh 2-1-0-0, Crockett dh 2-2-1-1, Benevidez dh 1-0-0-0. Totals 28-13-12-9.
Horizon – Evans cf 2-0-0-0, Fulgham lf 2-0-0-0, Mohr p p 1-0-0-0, Fullmer 1b 2-0-0-0, Hanson ss 2-0-0-0, A. Gonzales 2b 2-0-1-0, Strawn 3b 2-0-0-0, Dameron c 2-0-0-0, Snyder rf 2-0-0-0, Shade dh 1-0-0-0. Totals 18-0-1-0.
Batteries – Mohr, Fullmer (2), Gonzales (5) and Dameron; Berliner and McDaniel. W – Berliner (9-0). L – Mohr.
E – Gonzalez, MacIntyre; Strawn, Evans, Hanson. LOB – Rocky Mountain 10; Horizon 3. WP – Mohr, Fullmer. PB – Dameron 2. Time – 1:38.
