Emily Ingles made the MVP choice of the Division II softball all-star game a no-brainer from start to finish.

The Arcadia High standout pitched her typical game Wednesday night and added some spice with a rare at-bat in guiding the D-II South to a 4-3 victory over the North in the Arizona Softball Coaches Senior All-Star game at Campo Verde High School.

Ingles, who heads to Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville this fall, pitched five of seven innings and earned the victory for the South. She pitched the first three innings allowing no runs and striking out seven. When she came out the South had a 2-0 lead. The North pulled within 2-1 in the top of the fourth pushing across an unearned run off  Williams Field's Dalaney Nance.

Ingles, who batted one time this past season for Arcadia (hit by a pitch), made her second at-bat of the game and season meaningful. After striking out in the second inning, she laced a two-run double to right-center field to push the South's lead to 4-1. That proved the deciding hit as the North pecked away in the fifth and sixth to make it a 4-3 game.

The North wasn't done and  were primed to do major damage against Ingles in the seventh. A single, an error and walk loaded the bases with no outs. Ingles showed no panic with the situation and persevered.

She outlasted Cactus' Tatumn Porras in a grueling at-bat for the first out. Porras fouled off four 3-2 pitches before popping out to short left field where Mesquite's Brittany Holland made a nice catch over her shoulder. Ingles then fanned Deer Valley's Sam Beard on three pitches and induced a pop out to short from Cactus' Briley Feringa to end the game.

"I felt pretty strong out there," Ingles said. "I always come out confident and keep my head held high no matter what happens. I knew I had to stay strong for my team the way the (last) inning started."  Ingles totals for her five innings of work were four hits, one run (unearned, three walks and 10 strikeouts.

Porras had a nice game for the North. She pitched four innings, allowed three hits and no runs and was 2-for-3 (2 doubles). Cactus' Paula Yenkevich also had two hits for the Norh. Deer Valley's Marlee Pieper and St. Mary's Danielle Ruiz each had an RBI for the North.Marco de Niza's Alexis Ratliff was 3-for-3 (all singles with a run scored) for the South.

D-I GAME

This one wasn't a pitcher's duel. It was a powerfest by the West team. Chandler's Mona Noriega drilled two, two-run homers to stake the West to an a 4-0 lead after three innings and eventually to an 11-2 romp over the East at Campo Verde HS. The West hit four home runs and 10 of its 11 runs scored via the long ball.

Noriega, who will play at Scottsdale Community College next season, slammed both home runs off East starter Bailey Klitzke of Desert Ridge. The first one in the bottom of the first was to right-center field. Her second in the third was to right. She was hit by pitch in her next at-bat and ended up scoring her third run in three plate appearances. For her efforts she was named the game's MVP.

The West put the East away with a seven-run outburst in the fifth inning. Xavier Prep's Becky Ducar ripped a grand slam off Corona del Sol's Katelyn Stys after Noriega was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Two batters later Pinnacle's Kori Gahn lifted a two-run homer to left to cap the inning. Pinnacle teammate Karlee Johnson (2 for-4) drove in the West's other run in the inning with a single. Also with two-hit games for the West were Chandler's Sydney Behrens and Hamilton's Leah Stokes.

Xavier Prep's other game participant was pitcher Caitlyn Dickman, who went the distance for the West. Dickman scattered eight hits, walked one and struck out three. She gave up two runs in the sixth inning on an RBI single to Gilbert's Tori Gonzalez and a wild pitch. Three East players had two hits apiece -- Queen Creek's Taryn Simmons and Mariah Gallegos and Stys.