SOFTBALL

Navajo Prep secures District 1-A/3A title

Karl Schneider

kschneider@daily-times.com

FARMINGTON – The Navajo Prep softball team is once again the district champion.

The Lady Eagles swept Rehoboth Christian 9-6 and 8-7 Tuesday to secure the District 1-A/3A crown.

“It was a great ... win for us all. We had a couple of girls struggle, but that’s going to happen. A lot of girls picked it up and did a great job,” Prep head coach Bryan Heaston said. “I couldn’t be more proud of these girls for what they did. They realized their goal, and they’re district champs now.”

This year’s title is the Lady Eagles’ third in the last four seasons after Rehoboth Christian won it last year.

Navajo Prep's Tisharae Tsosie pitches against Rehoboth Christian on Tuesday at Navajo Prep.

After Prep (15-5, 6-0) took the first game with relative ease, the Lady Eagles had to fight back again and again in the second game to earn the win.

The Lady Lynx (17-5, 2-2) jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the top of the fourth.

But in the bottom of the inning, the Lady Eagle offense got going.

After back-to-back walks, Taina Sandoval hit a two-run triple to spark a four-run inning.

Prep added one run in the fifth to give the Lady Eagles a 5-3 lead.

The two sides kept battling in the sixth inning. Rehoboth Christian scored twice in the inning to tie the game, then Prep got one run in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead 6-5.

But the Lady Lynx wouldn’t go away, scoring two more in the seventh inning.

Navajo Prep's Taylor Yazzie connects on a pitch against Rehoboth Christian on Tuesday at Navajo Prep.

In the bottom of the seventh, trailing 7-6 with a runner on first base, Sandoval put the ball in play and advanced to second, putting runners on second and third for batter Kyra Capitan. Capitan came through with a laser that fell into center field to drive in the two runners and give the Lady Eagles the victory.

Prep now waits to see where it will seeded in the A/3A state tournament, which begins Wednesday, May 11 in Rio Rancho.

After winning the district title, Heaston said he thinks the Lady Eagles will move into one of the top four seeds.

“We’ll probably end up being the No. 4 seed. We should move up to the No. 4 seed, but we could move all the way to the three seed. You never know,” he said. “I’m super excited for what the girls accomplished this year — how they worked and fought. They earned being district champs.”

Karl Schneider is the sports editor for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4648.