Rincon/UHS senior Bailey Tanner. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

“I could tell the moment the ball hit the sweet spot.” 

That’s how Rincon/University freshman Angelina Camen knew she had provided the walk-off single needed to push the Rangers past Sunnyside 3-2 in the bottom of the 11th on Wednesday in the 6A Play-In Tournament.  The “sweet spots” were hard to come by on a day where both pitchers got stronger and stronger as the game went on, but Camen’s RBI put an end to a game that could have ended several times earlier.

Jazmine Ayala took the circle for No. 19 Sunnyside and Bailey Tanner got the ball for No. 14 Rincon/UHS. The two teams split in the regular season with the Rangers winning at Sunnyside and the Blue Devils winning at Rincon/UHS and it took 11 innings to decide the rubber match.

The Blue Devils struck first with four hits in the top of the first including an RBI double from Jaden Espinoza to score Viviana Orantez and Arianna Espinoza followed that up with an RBI single to score Jaden Espinoza.

Tanner settled down from there and she erased 16 of the next 19 batters to give her team a shot at a comeback. The comeback almost didn’t happen, though, not with Ayala turning the Rangers back time and time again.

Analisa Gomez came up with an RBI in the bottom of the second to score Grace Driskill but the Rangers stranded 10 runners in the first five innings thanks to Ayala’s ability to halt any kind of rally.  Ayala came up with a strikeout in the bottom of the first to leave the bases loaded, she picked up a ground out to leave two more on in the second, she struck out two in a row to leave two on in the third, she induced a pop fly to leave two on in the fourth and she picked up two outs to stand a runner at second in the fifth.

The Rangers finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth to tie things up 2-2 thanks to another RBI from Gomez to score Driskill but Ayala found another gear and she stopped 14 of the next 16 batters to give her team a shot at ending the game.

It looked like Jayleen Carbajal provided that spark after the sophomore led off the top of the seventh with a double, but Tanner had other plans. Arianna Lopez sacrificed Carbajal to third for one out but Tanner picked up a fly ball for the second out. Orantez drew a walk after a lengthy at bat and Tanner got a groundball to end the threat.

Ayala led off the top of the eighth with a single but Tanner escaped once again with a double play but it looked like all the magic was gone when Paola Zamacona led off the top of the ninth with a double. Carbajal sacrificed her over to third but a bang-bang double play at first and then home turned the Blue Devils away.

Tanner ended the game with eight consecutive outs to, once again, give her teammates a chance to win the game. Arianna Encinas gave the Rangers life with one out in the bottom of the 11th and then Gomez reached on a fielder’s choice error to put two on for Camen.

Camen scored Encinas for the 3-2 win, sending the Rangers to the 6A state playoffs set to start on Saturday, April 28. The AZPreps365.com bracket reveal show will go live at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“I focused on my mechanics and didn’t want to mess with my mind too much,” Camen added. “I knew when it hit the sweet spot and I looked back when I rounded first to see we had own.”

Ayala went the distance for the Blue Devils and she collected 12 strikeouts in the loss and she also went 3-for-5 at the plate to help her cause. Tanner had five strikeouts in the win. Camen went 3-6 with a double and an RBI, Gomez went 2-5 with two RBI, Areli Valdez went 2-5 with a double, Melissa Mange went 2-5 and Driskill finished 2-5 with two runs.

Angelina Camen with a walkoff in the bottom of the 11th to give @ruhs_softball the 3-2 win pic.twitter.com/HT2hE7lebu

— Andy Morales (@AZPreps365Andy) April 26, 2018