Flores fires three-hit shutout as Merced extends streak against GV

The Merced High softball team appears headed in the right direction after a shaky start to the season.

The Bears got a strong pitching performance from Abby Flores and took advantage of Golden Valley’s defensive mistakes to defeat the Cougars 4-0 on Thursday, picking up their fourth victory in the last five games. Merced’s come a long way from the team that started 1-7-2 this season.

“Really it’s been about trusting the process,” said Merced coach John Kane. “It’s about not getting too down. We really stressed getting good at-bats and we’ve stressed defense because that’s been an issue for us. We lost three big seniors from last year, it wasn’t just (Madilyn Nickles). So everybody had to learn to shoulder the weight. We had to find our identity.”

The Bears have been led offensively by Jewels Perez (.457 batting average), Jackie Garza (.435), Phoebe Arista (.405) and Lily Ramirez (.325, three home runs and 10 RBIs) this season.

Against the Cougars, however, it was Flores leading the way in the circle as she went up against Golden Valley ace Marissa Bertuccio.

Flores struck out nine and fired a three-hit shutout.

“It’s pretty tough going against a pitcher like (Bertuccio),” Flores said. “I just tried to stay focused. I knew my team had my back.”

“That’s the best presence in the circle she’s had all year,” Kane said. “She wanted the ball back from (catcher) Dae Dae (Landeros) to go again. She hit her spots. She went right at them.”

The Cougars’ season seems to be headed in the opposite direction. After starting out 7-1-1, GV has lost six of its last seven games.

Golden Valley struggles to score runs and its defense hasn’t done its job behind Bertuccio.

Two Cougars’ error helped Merced break up the scoreless tie in the fourth inning. A dropped fly ball allowed Perez to reach second to lead off the inning. Then with two outs, a misplayed grounder off the bat of Ashlynn Chatham allowed Perez to score to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.

Bertuccio was a tough-luck loser, striking out seven and giving up just four hits in six innings.

The Bears broke the game open with three runs in the sixth inning, again aided by two GV errors. Perez and Chatham both singled during the rally with Chatham driving in a run on a bunt single.

The win extended Merced’s dominance over its crosstown rival. The Bears have won 24 consecutive games against the Cougars, outscoring GV 243 to 38 during the streak. The Cougars last win was a 4-1 victory on April 9, 2008.

“We can’t win games when we can’t put the ball in play and make errors,” said Golden Valley coach Ross Cruickshanks. “I think all four runs were unearned. We get down a run and we start pressing. We’re not aggressive. I was disappointed with our effort. We have to not give up and keep working hard.”

Atwater 9, Buhach Colony 1 in Atwater – Cheyenne Mahy struck out 10 on her way to a complete-game victory and she also added two hits, including a triple at the plate. Katie Bettis added three hits, including two doubles for the Falcons, who remain all alone atop the CCC at 6-0.

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Flores fires three-hit shutout as Merced extends streak against GV."