Final game of the regular season. Denver Prep League softball title on the line. Kennedy and East tied after five innings. There is always excitement in the city.
The Commanders put together a two-run sixth inning, and pitcher Krystal Sanchez sat down the final six batters in Kennedy’s 5-2 victory over East on Thursday at All City Field, creating a three-way tie atop the Class 5A DPL standings.
“This is always the biggest game of the year. We know it’s a big deal and we look forward to it,” said Sanchez, who struck out nine batters and went 2-for-3 with an RBI double.
Kennedy (11-8, 8-1 DPL) earned its third consecutive league title. But the Commanders will have to share this one with East (13-6, 8-1) and 4A’s Thomas Jefferson (13-6, 8-1). There are no league title tiebreakers in the DPL.
Christina Romero was 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, and Cherray Blan drove in two runs with singles for Kennedy. East’s leadoff hitter Shaina Mitchell went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs scored.
Kennedy jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after an error in East’s outfield with two out allowed RBI hits by Sanchez and Blan.
East retaliated in the third when Mitchell ripped a double, then scored after a Kennedy error at first base. The Angels tied the score in the fifth with an RBI single by Katherine McGlamery, but were stopped later in the inning after a clutch double play.
With McGlamery on first, Brenna Hokanson hit a hard grounder to Romero at the shortstop position. Romero fielded the ball smoothly, glided over to tag second base and fired a strike to beat Hokanson at first.
“That double play was a game-saver. That was one of the best plays I’ve seen all season,” East coach Howard Karsh said.
Kennedy 200 002 1 – 5 8 3
East 001 010 0 – 2 4 4
Kennedy – Kobayashi 3b 3-0-0-0, Hansen cf 4-0-0-0, Romero ss 3-2-1-0, Sanchez p 3-2-2-1, Blan c 4-0-2-2, Martinez lf 3-1-1-0, Stock 1b 2-0-1-0, Leal rf 2-0-0-0, MacBride 2b 3-0-1-1. Totals 27-5-8-4.
East – Mitchell ss 2-2-1-0, K. McGlamery cf 2-0-1-1, Hokanson c 3-0-1-0, L. McGlamery 2b 3-0-0-0, Jones 3b 2-0-0-0, Stamp 1b 3-0-1-0, Hall dp 3-0-0-0, Millis lf 3-0-0-0, Borman rf 2-0-0-0, Pokrandt dp 1-0-0-0. Totals 24-2-4-1.
Batteries – Sanchez and Blan; Dowling and Hokanson. W – Sanchez (11-8). L – Dowling (13-6).
E – Kobayashi 2, Stock; Millis 2, Jones, K. McGlamery. LOB – Kennedy 7; East 5. D – Sanchez, Stock, Romero; Mitchell. WP – Dowling 3. Time – 1:47.
