HENDERSON, Nev. – The Yavapai College softball team emerged victorious in two of its three games Friday afternoon at the 2022 Coyote Classic to open its season. The Roughriders took down the No. 4-ranked Salt Lake Community College Bruins 9-8, fell to the College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles 8-3 and rebounded with a game-three victory over the Golden Eagles of Utah State University Eastern by a score of 13-1. 

Game One
Yavapai's first contest of the day was a wild one that featured a matchup between two of the NJCAA's top-five ranked teams. The No. 5-ranked Roughriders took on the No. 4-ranked Bruins of Salt Lake Community College and started the game off with some early fireworks. 

After two outs to start the first inning for the visiting Roughriders, freshman middle infielders Yaya Kaaialii and Lovey Kepa'a launched back-to-back homers, respectively, to begin their college careers and give Yavapai a 2-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the frame, sophomore pitcher Emily Dix walked the bases loaded and then proceeded to strike out the side to preserve the lead. 

That lead, however, didn't last long as the Bruins stormed back in the bottom of the second with a two-out three-run homer and RBI single to take a 4-2 lead on Yavapai. 

The Roughriders then started a rally of their own in the top of the third where the dynamic duo of Kaaialii and Kepa'a struck again. This time, Kaaialii doubled with one out and then came around to score on Kepa's RBI single. Sophomore infielder Cheyenne Sandoval followed Kepa'a with a monster two-run homer to give Yavapai a 5-4 lead. 

The nightmarish top of the third for the Bruins didn't stop there, however, as freshman catcher Jasmine Moreno followed Sandoval's homer with a single and eventually came around to score on freshman infielder Makena Riggs's two-run homer to bring the score to 7-4 in favor of the Roughriders. 

Yavapai followed up its third-inning five-spot in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs in the form of a two-run shot off the bat of Kaaialii to balloon Yavapai's advantage to 9-4. 

The Bruins responded by tacking on a run in the bottom of the fourth and made things interesting with a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth that brought the score to 9-8. 

Freshman pitcher Emily Darwin, however, struck out the side in the sixth, before handing the ball back to Dix for the bottom of the seventh. Dix then set the Bruins down in order and Yavapai walked away with a 9-8 win over No. 4-ranked Salt Lake. 

The duo of Dix and Darwin (or "the Emily's") pitched the entirety of the game with Darwin logging eight strikeouts in four innings and Dix tallying five in three innings. 

At the plate, Kaaialii led all hitters with her monster performance, Kepa'a tallied two hits and Sandoval, Riggs, Moreno and sophomore outfielder Kayla Rodgers all finished with one. 

Game Two
The College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles jumped ahead of the Roughriders in game two with a solo homer in the top of the third and two-run single in the top of the fifth for a 3-0 lead. 

Down 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth, the Roughriders cut into the Golden Eagles lead with a two-run homer off the bat of Sandoval that followed a Kepa'a single. 

In the top of the seventh, however, the College of Southern Idaho put up a five-spot to take a commanding 8-2 lead on Yavapai. Sophomore outfielder Mia Weckel tallied a solo homer in the bottom half of the frame, however, the Roughriders fell by a final score of 8-3 in game two. 

The Emily's combined to pitch all of game two as well and tallied 11 strikeouts total. 

At the plate, Kepa'a and Moreno each tallied two hits while Weckel, Rodgers, Kaaialii, Sandoval and sophomore infielder Alyssa Rosales all had one. 

Game Three
The game script for Yavapai's game-three matchup with the Utah State University Eastern Golden Eagles differed significantly from the first two games as the Roughriders completely dominated the contest. 

Yavapai took home the 13-1 five-inning run rule victory by tallying three, two, two and six runs in their respective offensive innings. 

Weckel led the squad in game three with three hits (two homers and a double), five RBIs and two runs scored. Kaaialii, Moreno and freshman catcher Ashley Fields all tallied two hits (one of which was a three-run triple off the bat of Fields) while Rodgers, Riggs and freshman outfielder Sierra Griego all tallied one. 

On the mound, freshman pitcher Genavie Espinoza went the distance and logged four strikeouts in her five innings of work. 

Up Next
The tournament continues on Saturday in Henderson, Nevada, for the Roughriders with a matchup against the Colorado Northwestern Community College Spartans slated for 9 a.m. and a matchup with the Snow College Badgers set for 4:30 p.m. (both game times are Nevada time - one hour behind Arizona). Both games will have live stats available on GoRoughriders.com/Live.