Sahuarita improved to 11-4 on the year after the Mustangs beat Amphitheater 15-3 Tuesday on the road. The Mustangs began the day ranked No. 11 in the 4A Conference, and in a good position to remain in the top 16 with four games left on their schedule, but the remaining opponents are all ranked outside of the top 20.

Sahuarita started the season with a 1-3 record but the team turned things around and the program is working on an eight-game win streak with an average margin of victory of 13-3. Amphitheater (2-10) is ranked No. 43 at the 4A level so it is unclear how many power ranking points the Mustangs will gain from the win but a loss would have been a drag on their playoff chances.

The Panthers took a 2-0 lead on the Mustangs after Maliyah Espinoza connected on a shot to score Marina Pro and herself in the bottom of the first inning but the Mustangs scored five unearned runs in the top of the second to take control of the lead the rest of the way. Neveah Baca reached on an infield error and then a walk issued to Caitlyn Fackler set up an RBI from Lucero Lerma.

Ava Harris followed with a walk and then Maya Figueroa reached on a fielder’s choice one out later that brought in the second run for Sahuarita. Leah Salas took full advantage and she blasted a 3-run home run to cap the inning.

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Only a junior, Salas leads the team with a .633 batting average, 34 RBI and 5 home runs. Freshman standout Kealey Myhre is right behind her, batting .522 with 29 RBI and 5 home runs. Myhre also leads the team with 8 doubles.

Ruth Alegria started the bottom of the second with a double and Dayani Ybarra brought her home to cut the Sahuarita lead down to 5-3. That was all the Panthers would get the rest of the way with Figueroa only allowing two runners off of a couple of fielding errors. She finished with nine strikeouts and improved to 2-2 from the circle.

The Mustangs added five more runs in the third, three in the fourth and two more in the fifth for the 15-3 final. Baca had a double and a 2-run home run down the stretch, Fackler went 2 for 2 with an RBI, Maria Fernanda Lerma added an RBI double and Salas, Maritza Mendivil, Figueroa, Myhre added RBIs. Esmeralda Leon took the circle for Amphitheater.

Espinoza is the niece of former University of Arizona All-American Laura Espinoza Watson and her mother, Irma Espinoza Sonnek, was an All-ACCAC selection for Eastern Arizona before moving over to be a part of the first softball team at Los Angeles Harbor College. In addition, her cousin Kristiana Watson is a freshman for ASU.

The Panthers will host Walden Grove (2-8) on Friday and Sahuarita travels to Douglas (4-6) on Wednesday.

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