By Don Ketchum

It was much more than a game. It was much more than a victory. It signified a continuing commitment to the eradication of one of the deadliest diseases the world has known.

The softball teams from Peoria Sunrise Mountain and Glendale Raymond S. Kellis wore shirts in support of cancer awareness and treatment on Wednesday (April 13) for their game at Sunrise Mountain. Home plate was pink, the bases were pink and a large pink ribbon was stenciled on the ground in front of the backstop.

Sunrise Mountain wore pink shirts for breast cancer, Sunrise Mountain gold, for cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong program. On the backs of the shirts, above the numbers, were the names of those people the players knew and/or were supporting, those who had the disease.

Sunrise Mountain coach Nick Rizer said virtually everyone on his team had been affected by cancer. He included himself in that. His father passed away due to cancer late last year.

Rizer’s team was on top of its game, rolling to an 8-0 victory behind pitcher Dani Bonnet’s three-hitter.

Sunrise Mountain climbed to 19-1. Raymond S. Kellis fell to 18-5.

Sunrise Mountain got the early jump and never looked back, scoring three runs in the first inning, four in the second and one more in the fourth.

The Mustangs scored its first three runs on a single and an error, a triple, and a groundout.

In the second, it was a double, an error and a two-run home run by Karissa Haleman. Mallory Dreiling put the finishing touches on the proceedings with an RBI single in the fourth.

“We are being consistent with all facets of the game,’’ Rizer said. “We have seven of our nine starters hitting .400 or higher, and we like our chances with Dani out there pitching.’’