The Pojoaque Valley High School softball team seems to be peaking at the right time.
Winners of their last three out of four games (hosted Moriarty High School Tuesday but the result was not available by press time) after two consecutive losses prior, the Elkettes kept rolling thanks to a complete-game effort by Michaela Martinez from the mound to carry Pojoaque to a 10-0 win over non-district opponent Albuquerque Academy April 25 at Chris Peterson Memorial Softball Field.
In just her second appearance pitching of the season, Martinez held the Lady Chargers in check for a majority of the game — giving up five hits in all and just one after the second inning onward in the game that ended early in the sixth inning.
“Michaela pitched awesome today,” Pojoaque head coach Chris Ortiz said. “It’s the second time she’s thrown for us and she came through great. I’m very happy for her and we will utilize her going down the stretch.”
Martinez struck out three batters and threw a four-pitch third inning along the way on the day that Pojoaque ended early after scoring in each inning after a scoreless first.
On the contrary, Albuquerque Academy pitcher Natasha Sun surrendered seven earned runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings pitched.
The Elkettes used a two-run RBI double by Elysia Gonzales and RBIs by Jessica Roybal and Martinez to post four runs in the fifth inning to increase their lead to 9-0 before Aiyana Gipson’s RBI in the sixth scored the 10th and final run.
In all, Pojoaque totaled 10 hits, but didn’t get things started until the third inning when Roybal recorded a double and Maddie Gonzales brought her and Ayanna Aguirre home on a two-run RBI double.
For Gonzales, the hit came with a bit of a price, easy to see from her reaction when she reached base and she tried to get her hands to stop stinging.
“I hit on the inside of the bat on the barrel, so it shocked my whole hands,” Gonzales said. “It hurt my hands a little, but we needed it.”
Indeed, the two-run third inning was just what the Elkettes needed to wake up, as they countered with two more runs in the fourth after more RBIs from Roybal and Gonzales before the four-run fifth.
“I think that’s our normal selves and we always take a couple innings before we start getting used to it,” Ortiz said. “I think sometimes the girls have some jitters but they produced and did well — (they’re) having fun and maybe that pizza (in the dugout) worked.”
Gonzales credited the team’s consistent improvement from their bats as the season has progressed as to why the Elkettes are in a position to win the District 2-4A championship with wins in their final two games of the season when they host Los Alamos High School for a doubleheader at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday.
“Our hitting has really improved a lot over the course of the season,” Gonzales said. “Our defense is also getting a lot better now that we’re coming together to work as one, because when we’re down in the slumps, we can get ourselves back up with how much fun we’re having.”