Sterling stays hot, shuts out Alleman at home

STERLING – It’s been a pretty good week for the Sterling offense.

The red-hot Golden Warriors defeated Alleman 13-0 in a five-inning Western Big 6 game Thursday, giving them 43 runs in the last two games after a 30-4 win on Tuesday in Galesburg.

“I think the energy from Galesburg definitely carried over to this game, for sure,” Mya Lira said. “We stayed up, kept going even when we had a couple of errors early and didn’t hit the ball as well that first inning, and that led to hits and scoring runs.”

After a 1-2-3 first inning, the Warriors came out ready to roll in the second. The first five batters had hits, and nine players reached base safely before the first out – a force out at home plate on a bases-loaded grounder to third.

Lily Martinez, Kaity Taylor and Rosie Cantu loaded the bases with consecutive singles, then Olivia Castillo ripped a two-out single up the middle. Bree Taylor hit a squibber off the end of the bat to reload the bases, then Georgia Gallardo drove in a run on a slow roller to first, as the throw home was too late to get Rosie Cantu. Lira followed with an RBI single to right, then Lily Cantu ripped a two-run single to left for a 6-0 lead.

Marley Sechrest drew a walk, then Martinez reached on a fielder’s choice as Lira was forced out at home on a grounder to third, but the throw to first to attempt the double play was dropped, and Lily Cantu scored while runners advanced to second and third. Kaity Taylor ripped her second hit of the inning, this one a two-run double to the fence in left to make it 9-0.

“The first couple girls that were up came back into the dugout telling everyone what she was throwing, and we all made the adjustment – some of us before we even had an at-bat,” Kaity Taylor said about the huge second inning. “We just listen to each other and learn from other players’ at-bats.”

The inning ended when Rosie Cantu’s line drive was snagged up the middle by Alleman shortstop Izzy Schneider, who beat Kaity Taylor to second base with a dive to double her off.

Lira added a two-out RBI single in the third, then after a run-scoring error with nobody out in the fourth, pinch-hitters Layla Wright and Dasia Lewis drove in runs with a single and a groundout.

The bats are finding their stride at the right time for Sterling (14-5, 9-2 WB6), with the postseason right around the corner in a couple of weeks. The Warriors stayed one game behind league-leading Moline with its third straight win, and 10th in the last 13 games.

“We’ve had some ups and downs, but just working through all of that has definitely translated to the success and such strong offense the last few games,” Lira said. “We’re definitely playing with confidence right now.”

Most of the damage came early in the count, as Sterling’s hitters were aggressive at the plate against Alleman starter Sydnee Ganahl and reliever Schneider.

“That first-pitch strike, if it’s there, we want to hit that; if it’s not, leave it. She was throwing that first-pitch strike, and that’s what we wanted,” Kaity Taylor said. “It just kept going. The energy was bouncing off each other, and we all went up there and kept it going.”

Kaity Taylor and Bree Taylor both went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored, and Kaity added two RBIs. Lira was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, Lily Cantu drove in a pair of runs, and Rosie Cantu and Lewis each scored twice. In all, 10 of the 11 Warriors who had an at-bat reached base at least once.

It was more than enough offense for Martinez, who gave up two hits in four shutout innings, striking out two without a walk. Reliever Laura Shumard worked a 1-2-3 fifth to close things out.

Only one of Alleman’s four baserunners made it past first base, as the Sterling defense battled through tough conditions – a brutal wind was blowing straight in from center field – to make the plays behind their pitchers.

“Our defense was super crucial,” Lira said. “We got to throw in a new pitcher and work around in new positions, and it’s definitely fun when you can change things up and put people in different places.”

Kendall Possin and Rhylee McMeekan had the hits for the Pioneers (9-18, 3-9 WB6), while Schneider and Sofia Diaz reached base on errors.