Baseball/softball replay: State No. 1 Melissa’s 22-run outbreak; Guyer makes a statement

Game of the night

Melissa has earned the title of the state’s No. 1 Class 5A softball team for a reason, and Tuesday night’s game against McKinney North was yet another example of that.

Melissa destroyed McKinney North 22-1 in just three innings played, recording 13 hits with zero errors. Melissa’s 22 runs are its most in a single game all season.

The area’s No. 1 5A team took a 7-0 lead after the first three outs and only continued to build on that advantage. It scored nine runs on six hits in the second and six runs on five hits in the third.

Coming off pitching two hitless innings Friday against Princeton, Michigan State pledge Alex Starr only pitched two more on Tuesday, allowing one hit while striking out three batters.

Amariee Bradford and Hutton “Lulu” Adrian each had a home run while Kennedy Bradley had a team-high five RBIs.

Melissa is now ranked No. 14 in the nation, per MaxPreps. Since losing its only game of the season to Plano East in non-district play, it has outscored its last eight opponents 96-2.

Photos: Softball powerhouse Melissa breaks out for 22 runs in win

21 images

View Gallery

Spotlight

Coming off a challenging week, Denton Guyer softball made a statement Monday night.

Entering last week, the reigning Class 6A state finalist was ranked No. 21 in the nation but ended the week outside MaxPreps’ national rankings for the first time since early last season.

Two district opponents challenged Guyer. Allen took the team to 10 innings before Guyer was ultimately able to secure the win, and McKinney upset Guyer 3-1.

The No. 5 team in the state squared off with Prosper Rock Hill Monday, the second-ranked team in its district’s standings. Rock Hill was 5-1 in District 5-6A play entering the matchup.

But Guyer walked away with a statement win, beating Rock Hill 10-0 in five innings.

Guyer got off to a 6-0 start by the end of the first inning. After scoring two early runs, Karen Galaviz doubled on a line drive to right field, driving in three runs to put the game seemingly out of reach in the top of the first.

Galaviz went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs and three RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Finley Montgomery pitched five scoreless innings for Guyer, giving up just one hit and striking out five.

Monday-Tuesday standouts

Baseball

Landon Ammerman, Rockwall-Heath: Heath’s pitcher struck out nine Tyler Legacy batters and allowed just one run in six innings pitched, leading his team to a 9-1 victory.

Braxton Barber, Jesuit: Barber, a sophomore, recorded three hits in four at-bats and scored three runs in Jesuit’s 10-0 win over Irving. His team has emerged as one of the area’s best this season, ranking 13th in the state among all classifications.

Alexander Castaneda, Garland: With the game tied at 10-10 in the bottom of the ninth and one out, Castaneda singled on a line drive to center field to drive in the walk-off, game-winning run. The shortstop batted 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs, two runs and a walk. Garland defeated Garland Lakeview Centennial 11-10.

Dylan Cheek, Rockwall: Cheek’s hit in the first inning put Rockwall up 1-0 before his sac fly in the third gave Rockwall a 2-1 lead, which ultimately held in the 6-1 win over Royse City.

Fabian Escobedo, Mesquite Horn: With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Escobedo singled and drove in the game-winning run to give Horn a 3-2 win over Mesquite.

Keegan Harsh, Keller Fossil Ridge: The senior faced 28 batters in seven innings Tuesday but didn’t give up a single run and secured the 8-0 shutout against Keller Timber Creek. He allowed four hits and one walk while striking out one.

Josh Glaser, Flower Mound: The state’s No. 1 team took down another district opponent in a 3-0 win over Plano West, and while both teams were strong on the mound, Glaser was the standout. He pitched seven innings and allowed just two hits and one walk. The Texas State commit struck out 10 batters in the game while also recording a hit and an RBI at the plate.

Zackary Goldstein, Grapevine: The No. 2 team in the state came away with a dominant 10-0 district win over Denton Ryan in which Goldstein shined. The right fielder went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs. One of his hits was a double and another was a triple.

Benicio Marchiondo, Lake Dallas: The senior singled in the bottom of the eighth against Richland when the game was tied 2-2 and drove in the game-winning, walk-off run.

Mason Nguyen, Mansfield Lake Ridge: The Northeast Texas Community College commit didn’t give up a single hit in the five innings he pitched during the 6-1 win over Skyline. He struck out seven while allowing one earned run and five walks.

Jax Robinson, Waxahachie: Multiple Waxahachie players stood out in the 20-3 win over Duncanville Tuesday. Robinson, the catcher, went 3-for-3 at the plate with one run, two RBIs and a walk. His teammates Chase Pearrow and Reid Graham each drove in four runs.

Softball

Rylee Allen, Arlington: Arlington dominated Arlington Sam Houston in a 23-3 win thanks to Allen hitting for the cycle. She hit a home run to center field in the third inning, tripled in the second, doubled in the third and singled in the first. Arlington’s second baseman finished 4-for-4 at the plate with five RBIs and three hits.

Valeria Cabello, Garland: Cabello pitched a three-inning no-hitter in the 22-0 mercy-rule win over North Garland. She also struck out seven batters in the contest while her team had 20 hits. At the plate, Cabello went 4-for-4 with two home runs, two runs and four RBIs.

Caydance Gaddis, McKinney: In a defensive battle between Prosper and McKinney, McKinney’s pitcher carried her team to victory, allowing just one walk and one hit in seven innings pitched. She struck out 14 batters in the 1-0 district win.

Baylee Grant, Rowlett: Grant pitched four hitless innings in the 18-3 win over Garland Naaman Forest while striking out six batters.

Tessa Horton, Lake Highlands: Horton went 2-for-2 at the plate — one double and one home run — while also walking once to drive in four runs in the 10-0 win over Irving.

Kaaya Mehta, Plano West: Mehta accounted for five total runs in the 13-7 win over Flower Mound, driving in four on five at bats and scoring once herself.

Mallory Moore, Coppell: Moore went 4-for-5 from the plate with two runs and an RBI in Coppell’s 9-7 win over Plano. The win was Coppell’s first in district play.

Jernie Nerio, South Grand Prairie: The sophomore pitcher was the standout in South Grand Prairie’s 13-0 shutout win over Arlington Lamar. She pitched five shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one run while striking out 13 batters. Nerio was named the District 8-6A pitcher of the year last year as a freshman.

Olivia Powell, Lewisville: With the game tied at 5-5 at the top of the seventh inning, Powell doubled on a fly ball to right field and drove in the game-winning run. She went 3-for-3 at the plate with one RBI and one walk in the 6-5 upset win over district frontrunner Hebron.

Sammie Scott, Arlington Martin: Scott pitched a no-hitter in a three-inning outing Tuesday against Arlington Bowie. She struck out five batters in the 15-0 win.

Stat sheet

4

Home runs Sachse softball hit in the first inning. Sachse took a 19-0 lead over Garland Lakeview Centennial by the bottom of the first thanks to four home runs — two from Maya McClarity, one from Missouri commit Nevaeh Watkins and the last from Isabella Penk. Penk also struck out six and allowed just one hit on the mound in the 20-0 victory that was sealed after three innings.

20

Total strikeouts between both teams in Flower Mound Marcus softball’s 4-3 win over Plano East. Both pitchers pitched seven innings, and East starter and Northwestern State commit Jadyn Dawson allowed six hits while striking out nine. Marcus pitcher Chloe Poteete allowed five hits while striking out 11 in the win.

16

Runs Garland softball scored in the first inning. Garland jumped out to a 16-0 lead and ultimately won 22-0 in just three innings against Garland Lakeview Centennial. Pitcher Valeria Cabello was the standout pitching a no-hitter while hitting two home runs in the win.

On Twitter: @lassimak

Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Sign up for our FREE HS newsletter.