Tuesday, April 28, 1998 | 9:16 a.m.
Durango's freshman pitching tandem learned a tough lesson about the Silverado softball team's offensive firepower in Monday's nonconference matchup.
The visiting Skyhawks entered the fifth inning without a single hit, then erupted for 10 runs off first-year Trailblazers Tisha Salamino and Aja Sherman to post a 10-1 victory.
"Hitting is contagious," said Silverado coach Chuck Pope, whose club improved to 24-5 overall. "The best part is, they did it against good pitching with the best catcher in our league calling the pitches."
Early in the game, Salamino looked virtually untouchable. The right-hander allowed only three runners to reach base in the first four innings and struck out five of the first 14 hitters she faced.
But with the Trailblazers (21-9) holding a 1-0 lead, courtesy of an Angie Kitchen RBI single, Silverado suddenly figured Salamino out in the key fifth inning.
Skyhawk second baseman Mindy Ogan led off with a sharp single to center -- her club's first hit of the ballgame -- and with that the floodgates opened.
Julie Yurek drilled a triple down the third-base line to knot the score, Laura Connors doubled her home and when the dust finally settled, the visitors had sent 12 batters to the plate, plated 10 runs on seven hits and chased Salamino from the mound.
"We just had to get our timing down against her," said Ogan, who went 2-for-3.
Sherman got touched for the final three runs of the inning, but the reliever did a good job preventing the visitors from scoring an 11th run and evoking the mercy rule.
"When pitchers are young, they don't know how to relax when things go wrong," Durango coach Sandra Morgan said. "That's why we're playing so many games. We're trying to work through that. And we don't want any surprises if we play Silverado again because it would be in the playoffs."
Skyhawks' starter Kelly Commerford (7-1) won the battle of freshman pitchers, scattering eight hits in six innings before giving way to reliever Jenelle Richardson, who pitched a scoreless seventh.
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