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Snelling’s single delivers win for Palo Verde

The three seniors for Palo Verde’s softball team were honored during a brief ceremony before Friday’s game.

But it was the Panthers’ younger players who came through in the regular-season finale.

Junior Allyson Snelling singled home classmate Cara Beatty with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, and host Palo Verde rallied for a 7-6 victory over fourth-ranked Coronado.

“It isn’t a league game, so it doesn’t affect where we place in regionals, but you want to win every single game,” Panthers senior second baseman Kali Tomlinson said. “Us coming together as a team and coming out and pushing runs, it just proves how hard everyone on this team works.”

Tomlinson went 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored for the No. 3 Panthers (26-6-1), and Beatty was 2-for-4 and tied the game at 6 with a solo homer to right-center field in the fifth inning.

Sophomore Grace Chavez finished 2-for-2 with a double, homer and three RBIs as the 3-4-5-6 hitters in Palo Verde’s lineup combined to go 9-for-14 with three homers and six RBIs.

“It was definitely a boost,” Palo Verde coach Kelly Glass said. “It was a fun game. I told them I wanted them to use today as batting practice, and most of them did that.”

Beatty and Tomlinson opened the bottom of the seventh with singles, and Chavez was intentionally walked to load the bases with nobody out. Snelling then lined the first pitch she saw from Coronado pitcher Tatum Spangler to left field for a walk-off single.

“I knew there was nobody out, bases loaded. It’s kind of a dream opportunity,” Snelling said. “I knew I just needed to get it in play and see what happens. I saw the outside first pitch, I threw my hands at it and luckily it went right where nobody was.”

Tomlinson and Chavez hit back-to-back homers in the second for the Panthers to tie the score at 5. Palo Verde pitcher Kendall Hopkins allowed only two hits and one run in the final five innings after struggling early.

Sarah Pinkston went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Coronado, and her run-scoring double in the second after a miscommunication between two Panthers fielders put Coronado ahead 5-3.

Basia Query was 2-for-4 with a double, and Sophia McCann ripped a run-scoring double to center in the fifth that gave the Cougars a 6-5 advantage.

“Especially after this game and after this really great week we had, we have a lot of confidence going forward,” Snelling said. “We’re not going to underestimate anybody. We’re going to play smart and hopefully we really come together. If everybody does their part, I think we’ll go a long way.”

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ

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