Prep softball: GV outlasts foe in 14-innings, 4-3

Ray Brewer

Friday, May 22, 1998 | 10:55 a.m.

Marathon softball games are becoming a habit for the Douglas softball team.

It took the Tigers 25 innings to defeat McQueen 1-0 in the northern zone tournament last week. And in the first round of AAAA State Championships at Sunset Park on Thursday, Douglas was involved in another extra-inning affair.

But this time, Douglas came up short as Green Valley's Rachel Mohler singled home Kathy Waddilove in the bottom of the 14th inning to lift the Gators to a 4-3 win.

After one complete day of action, the north -- winner's of 12 of the last 14 state championships -- showed their superiority. Both Galena and Reed went 2-0 to advance into today's winner's bracket game and Carson went 1-1. Douglas lost its first two games and was eliminated.

For the south, Green Valley and Silverado each picked up first round wins before dropping their second game. Bonanza lost its opener then came back to win its second game to stay alive. Cimarron-Memorial dropped its first two games to be eliminated.

Without a doubt, the game of the afternoon belonged to Green Valley and Douglas. "It felt good," Mohler said of the winning hit. "We battled so hard, it was a team effort."

With two outs in the inning, Waddilove singled and Katie Amoia advanced on an error to put runners on first and second for Mohler. Two hours and 30 min utes into the game, Mohler ripped a shot to right-center allowing Waddilove to hustle a round with the game winner.

"It was kind of comical," Green Valley coach Cindi Davis said. "I appreciate and admire the heart we have...we never said die and we battled."

Both teams had several chances to win.

In the seventh, Green Valley's Cristy Beckburger threw out a Douglas r unner at the plate from her centerfield position. In the 11th, the Tigers' Rosi Contri returned the favor and gunned down Beckburger from her centerfield position trying to score the winning run.

The Gators scored three runs in the first to take a 3-1 lead, but Dougla s tied the game at three with two runs in the third. The score would remain tied for 11 innings.

In other action:

SILVERADO 4, CARSON 3: Silverado, the No. 1 seed from the south, scored three runs in the fifth in rallying to defeat Carson 4-3. After Carson's Brandi Cotroneo and Jina Padilla scored in the top half of the fifth to break and 1-1 tie, Silverado caught a break in its half of the fifth. With two outs, Mindy Ogan and April Arata walked and each advanced a base on a passed ball. Christy Moores hit a routine grounder to short that was mishandled, allowing Arata and Ogan to score and tie the game. Sonia Randolph pinch ran for Moores and eventually scored the game winner on a wild pitch.

REED 4, CIMARRON 1:

Reed's Cassie Vanderbeek pitched a complete game, striking out seven b atters to lead the Raiders to a 4-1 win. Reed, behind a two-run single from Ali Norman, scored three runs in the fifth to pull away. Trailing 1-0, Cimarron tied the game in the fourth as Amber Aragon singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

GALENA 3, BONANZA 1:

Galena, the northern zone champions, opened with a 3-0 win over Bonanza. Kourtney Davis struck out 15 batters in throwing a two hitter. Galena scored two runs in the fifth on a two-run double from Nichole Whi sman.

BONANZA 6, DOUGLAS 1:

In an elimination game, the Bengals' Chrystal Stevens had three hits to help keep Bonanza's title hopes alive with a 6-1 win.

Rachael Milligan had two hits, including a two-run double in the first inning.

CARSON 11, CIMARRON 3:

Carson scored four runs in the first on four Cimarron errors in cruising to an 11-3 win. Carson added four runs in the seventh for some insurance. Carson's Kendra Carlsen went the distance, striking out eight and scattering six hits to earn the win.

GALENA 3, GREEN VALEY 0:

Davis fired a two hitter and struck out 10 as Galena advanced in the win ner's bracket with a 3-0 win. With the win, Galena will face Reed (who they defeated twice in the nort hern zone) today at 4 p.m. in a winner's bracket showdown. Green Valley had the bases loaded in the sixth and runners on second and third in the fourth but couldn't push any runs across. "I actually threw a lot better than I have been lately," Davis said. "It's state so you have to pick it up more." Galena scored two runs in the second.

REED 10, SILVERADO 1:

Reed sent 10 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the sixth inning as they defeated Silverado 10-1. Jennie Wiechers hit a three-run home run to key the Reed rally.

TODAY'S ACTION:

Silverado will play Bonanza in an elimination game at 2 p.m. and Green Valley will play Carson in the other elimination game at 2 p.m. The winners will play each other at 4 p.m. Reed and Galena will also battle at 4 p.m. Saturday's semifinals and finals will be played at UNLV.