Odessa High left-hander Nivea Saenz wasn’t about to let all her and her teammates hard work go to waste.
With a runner on third base threatening to extend the District 2-6A game between the Lady Bronchos and rival Permian, Saenz stared in from the circle at the Lady Panthers’ cleanup hitter, Makenzie Bernal.
Bernal has the ability to turn any pitch around in a hurry, yet Saenz went right after her and it paid off for the Lady Bronchos.
Saenz induced a ground-ball out to cap a stellar performance as Odessa High earned a 12-2, run-rule, victory in five innings on Thursday at the Ratliff Softball Complex.
The Lady Bronchos improved to 10-15 overall and 2-4 in district play to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Lady Panthers (18-8-2, 5-1) were denied in clinching a playoff spot.
Saenz provided all the offense Odessa High would need with a three-run home run in the top of the first inning, but watched her teammates pound out 10 hits on the night.
She finished with a one-hitter against one of the top offenses in District 2-6A.
“That’s the best she’s been, by far, in district,” Odessa High coach Rachel Pena said. “You could tell the way she was in the circle and when she was at bat.
“We wanted to get off to a fast start and put pressure on them and we were able to do that. We still had some rough spots, but it was a great win.”
Diveli Cherry got the Lady Bronchos started with a leadoff single up the middle in the first inning, with Mya Mayberry reaching after getting hit by a pitch.
Shelby Navarrete singled to right to score Cherry and the Saenz hit the first pitch she saw over the right-center field fence for a 4-0 lead with no outs.
Permian was able to get out of the inning with no more damage, but Saenz shut the Lady Panthers down in the bottom of the inning and then watched her teammates break the game open in the second.
Sending 11 hitters to the plate, the Lady Bronchos scored seven times on three hits and three errors to take an 11-0 lead into the bottom of the second.
Permian was unable to recover.
>> Follow Lee Scheide on Twitter at @OALeeScheide
