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Devils obliterate opposition

Ian Cropp
EV Softball, Chelsey Lueders
ALL |

CORTEZ – The Devils could have been hitting off a tee on Friday and Saturday.In three games, Eagle Valley registered 48 hits and scored 47 runs, winning 19-2 against Durango on Friday, and shutting out Cortez in a doubleheader 17-0, 11-0.”The Devils’ bats came alive this weekend,” said coach Bill Beasley.Eagle Valley wasted no time in putting the first two games out of reach before the other teams came up to bat.”Our first inning blues went away,” Beasley said. “Before our first game I told the girls, ‘The first inning is over, let’s start with the second.'”Against Durango, the Devils scored nine runs in the first inning. For the game, Kayla Phillips went 4-for-4, Emily LyBarger went 2-for-3, Amy Strakbein went 2-for-2, and Jeannette Baker went 3-for-4.

“I think the Devils took over the Demons,” Beasley said. “Our defense was awesome and our hitting was spectacular. What I expected to happen at the beginning of the season is happening now.”Throwing and hitting fireChelsey Lueders didn’t need to be, but she was near perfect all weekend. Against Durango, Lueders had six strikeouts and allowed one hit. In the first game against Cortez, she was one hit away from a perfect game, and she only allowed one hit and a walk in the second game.Amy Thompson was a complete force at plate for the Devils on Saturday. In the first game against Cortez, she hit an inside-the-park homerun, a triple and a single, narrowly missing the cycle.

“She unloaded on the softball today,” Beasley said.For Thompson’s homerun, she hit the ball to the fence – 275 feet away – on one hop.”It was the furthest I’ve ever seen a softball hit by a girl,” Beasley said. “If would have been out of the park in any field that had a (softball) fence.”Thompson contributed to a five-run first inning and eight-run second inning in the 17-0 victory over Cortez. LyBarger went 3-for-3, Morgan Strakbein went 2-for-4, Amy Strakbein went 3-for-4, Phillips went 3-for-4 and Elana Hernandez went 2-for-3.Eagle Valley didn’t slow down at the plate in the second game. LyBarger went 3-for-4, Amy Strakbein went 3-for-4, Phillips went 2-for-3, Morgan Strakbein went 2-for-3 and Thompson went 3-for-4, with two doubles and a triple.



DefenseWhen the ball came into play, the Devils had little trouble making outs.”Morgan and Amy (Strakbein) gobbled up everything at shortstop and third, Danielle (Cavanaugh) had putouts at second, and Emily LyBarger caught some hard balls in center field,” Beasley said. There wasn’t much Beasley said his team needs to improve on for Tuesday’s doubleheader against Steamboat Springs in Eagle.”The only thing we didn’t do right this weekend was take a jet instead of a bus,” Beasley said.Sports Writer Ian Cropp can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 608, or icropp@vaildaily.com.


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