'She's our spark plug.' Merced's future Aztec continues torrid season with the bat.

Merced High sophomore Jewels Perez can hurt teams in a variety of ways. The Bears leadoff hitter can bunt, slap or hit for power. When she gets on base teams have to worry about her speed.

El Capitan saw enough of Perez on Thursday as the Bears star went 5 for 6 at the plate with three runs scored, three RBIs and three stolen bases to lead Merced to a 13-7 win over the Gauchos at El Capitan High.

"She's our spark plug," said Merced coach John Kane, whose team improved to 11-6 overall and 5-3 in the Central California Conference. "You know she's going to give you a quality at-bat. She can do so many things. She's got pop, she can drive the ball or she can bunt or slap her way on. She puts a lot of pressure on the defense."

Her five hits on Thursday bring her season batting average to a whopping .608. She's now scored 26 runs in 16 games and 11 of her 31 hits have gone for extra bases, including two home runs. She's failed to get a hit in only two games this season.

If you think CCC pitchers have it tough facing Perez. Try getting her to talk about herself.

"It's not just me, we all play a big role on the team," Perez said. "I just try to do my part."

Perez takes her job as the leadoff hitter seriously. Rarely does she go up and swing at the first pitch.

"Our coaches tell us to take as many pitches as we can," Perez said. "We want to go deep in counts. That way I can let my teammates know what the pitcher is throwing."

Perez helped ignite the Bears offense after they fell behind 6-3 after two innings. She delivered a run-scoring single, stole a base and eventually scored on a wild pitch during Merced's three-run rally in the fourth inning that tied the Gauchos at 7-7.

Perez singled again in the fifth inning and came around to score on Ashlynn Chatham's big two-out, two-run single that gave the Bears a 10-7 lead.

Perez again sparked a two-run sixth inning with a single. She then stole second and third base before scoring on an error as Merced extend its lead to 12-7.

Nine different Merced players had hits as the Bears banged out 16 hits. The Bears received a three-hit day from winning pitcher Abby Flores and two hits from Liliana Ramirez.

"I've played with most of these girls for a long time," Perez said. "I couldn't do it without them."

Perez has already verbally committed to accept a scholarship to San Diego State earlier this season after making a visit down South. One of the first things she did after making the commitment was facetime some of her teammates.

"I'm always talking to them," Perez said.

Perez said she's always wanted an opportunity to play softball in Southern California. She loved everything about her trip to San Diego.

"They offered the scholarship on a Saturday," Perez said. "I didn't verbally commit until the next day. I had to talk it over with my family, but I knew I was going to accept. It's a great school with great coaches. I loved it there."

Unfortunately for CCC pitchers, Perez still has two more years before she becomes an Aztec.

Atwater 1, Turlock 0 in Atwater – Abbi Vierra scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on a passed ball as the Falcons (16-5, 6-2 CCC) handed the Bulldogs (7-1 CCC) their first conference loss of the season. Megan Escobar went the distance for Atwater, pitching a one-hit shutout. She struck out five and walked two.

Shelby Frutoz went the whole way for Turlock, giving up just three hits. She struck out six.

This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 10:56 PM with the headline "'She's our spark plug.' Merced's future Aztec continues torrid season with the bat.."