Los Banos’ efficient Azevedo no-hits Pacheco in WAC softball

Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss.

It seemed to be for Kiara Azevedo and the Los Banos High School softball team Tuesday afternoon. The Tigers were so focused on their game with crosstown rival Pacheco, they were oblivious to the Panthers’ lack of hits.

It allowed the defense to play loosely behind Azevedo and kept the nerves at bay, as the sophomore southpaw calmly fielded a tough bunt in the bottom of the seventh inning. Azevedo fired to first, beating the speedy Atley Snapp in a bang-bang play.

It was the closest Azevedo came to yielding a hit in the Tigers’ 8-0 victory.

Azevedo mowed down the Panthers in an efficient 71 pitches, with a second-inning walk the only thing between her and a perfect game.

“I think the coaches and I were the only ones who were aware of what was going on,” Los Banos coach Dustin Caropreso said. “Kiki didn’t have a clue, but that probably wasn’t a bad thing.

“I think the key for her was how she pitched ahead in the count. She’s someone who typically falls behind and ends up throwing a lot of pitches. She was ahead all day today and let her defense play behind her. I think that’s a big reason we were sharp defensively, too. She worked quickly, and so they were on their toes the whole game.”

Azevedo’s lone blemish was a leadoff walk to Alia Garcia in the second inning. It was the only three-ball count she allowed. She struck out five and gave the Tigers (14-2, 4-1 Western Athletic Conference) precisely the pick-up they needed coming off their first conference loss.

“I didn’t know it was a no-hitter until (Pacheco coach) Charlie (Pikas) handed me the game ball and said, ‘Good job,’ ” Azevedo said. “I knew it was a windy day and most balls were going to hang up, so I trusted my defense to make plays behind me. They did a great job.

“My change-up really worked well for me today. They either took it for a strike and let me get ahead or there were a lot of swing and misses on it.”

Azevedo did a little of everything, providing the only offense she would need with two RBI doubles. The first opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, when Los Banos’ famous wind helped give her second life.

With Ali Waltman (2 for 3, 3 RBIs) on first and two down, Azevedo skied a foul ball behind the plate. The Pacheco catcher couldn’t quite squeeze the glove on the play, extending Azevedo’s at-bat. She drove the next pitch to the foot of the right-center fence to score Waltman.

The score remained that way until the fourth, when Los Banos again took advantage of plays Pacheco (8-6-1, 3-3 WAC) couldn’t quite make.

The Tigers opened the fourth with four consecutive singles to make it 2-0. Three were balls the Panthers’ defense had an opportunity to make a play on.

Even with the bad luck, Pacheco ace Autumn Randles almost worked her way out of the inning with minimal damage, answering with two quick outs. The third proved elusive, however, as Waltman cleared the bases with an opposite-field triple. Azevedo followed with an RBI double to make it 6-0.

“That could have been a very different inning,” Pikas said. “We make a play on any one of those balls and Waltman never gets to hit. I think it was a lack of confidence in ourselves. We kept playing too deep even though, with the exception of maybe two balls, everything was floating in front of us.

“It might not have made a difference in the end. We’ve faced a lot of good pitching this season, but that was probably the most complete performance. She wasn’t getting a lot of strikeouts, but she was ahead in the count and made us make contact with her pitch.”

Kylee Cardoza (2 for 3) and Emily LoneTree (2 for 4) also had solid days as Los Banos tacked on two insurance runs to finish the victory and the first round of league play.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 8:36 PM with the headline "Los Banos’ efficient Azevedo no-hits Pacheco in WAC softball."