Sierra Vista solves PV’s Callaway

Adam Candee

Thursday, May 13, 2004 | 9:30 a.m.

The sun barely peeked over the mountains Wednesday evening as Lindsey Callaway entered the pitching circle for Palo Verde. Nightfall quickly followed for the Panthers' sophomore hurler against Sierra Vista, and it came well before the sun disappeared.

Led by Kylee Kissane's homer to dead center, the Lions ripped Callaway for four runs on six consecutive hits in the first inning and cruised to a 5-0 victory at Stephanie Lynn Craig Fields in the opening round of the double-elimination Sunset Region playoffs.

"That's how you've got to be against every good pitcher," Sierra Vista coach Jerome Streets said. "You've got to jump on them early. The longer it goes, the more confidence they get on the mound. If you watched her, she got stronger as she went."

Jamie Meranto, Jessica Laman and Karlie Gabour all followed Kissane with RBIs in the opening frame as Sierra Vista (SW-2) set up a showdown with Centennial (NW-1) in tonight's second round. The Bulldogs squeezed by Clark (SW-4), 1-0, despite managing only two hits. Shannon Crisp struck out 16 in her shutout win.

For the Lions, Kissane turned in a strong pitching effort as well. Despite occasional control problems -- four walks and four wild pitches -- Kissane never allowed Palo Verde (NW-3) more than one hit in any inning and only one of her five hits allowed went for extra bases.

Streets encourages Kissane and his other pitchers to move the ball around the strike zone and take chances.

"When you have a riseball pitcher, you're going to have some walks," Streets said.

Kissane twice escaped dangerous situations. Palo Verde's Jeanna DeMarco led off the third inning with a triple down the first-base line, but Kissane stranded her without letting the ball out of the infield. She worked the same magic in the sixth after the Panthers put runners at second and third with no outs. Kissane induced two groundouts to Danielle Martinez and a line drive to Gabour to protect her shutout.

"It's a senior infield and they showed the leadership," Streets said.

Callaway settled in after the first inning, allowing just six baserunners the rest of the way, but the first inning proved too tough to overcome. She gave up five earned runs on nine hits, striking out seven while walking three.

The other Sunset winners' bracket matchup features Southwest champion Durango and Cimarron-Memorial. The Blazers had no trouble with Shadow Ridge (NW-4) in a 10-2 win while the Spartans (NW-2) downed Bonanza (SW-3), 5-1, to advance.

"It's a dogfight down here, especially in our region," Streets said.

The Sunrise Region mostly held true to form, as both division champions won. Northeast winner Las Vegas handled Foothill (SE-4), 4-1, while Southeast champion Silverado got by Chaparral (NE-4), 3-2.

Green Valley (SE-2) will face the Wildcats today after scoring a late unearned run to beat Desert Pines (NE-3), 1-0. The Gators did not record a hit through five innings. Coronado (SE-3) pounded Eldorado (NE-2), 12-3, to earn its third date of the season with the Skyhawks.

All Sunrise and Sunset Region tournament games continue through Saturday at Stephanie Lynn Craig Fields.