Ethan Troll is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Edge high school for AZPreps365.com

It’s time to call animal control.

The Desert Edge Scorpions’ varsity softball team gets a grand slam win over the Buckeye Hawks, starting off slow but then dominating throughout the rest of the contest, 10-4.

In the offseason, Desert Edge promoted assistant coach Mike Mendoza to head coach. Mendoza has taken the time to develop a great culture within the team and has been very patient with helping with the development of all his student-athletes. Tonight was the first test for Mendoza, his staff and his players and boy, did they show up.

Coach Mendoza was very proud of his girls for fighting all the way through, even when they were down to start the game. He wants to keep carrying this momentum with them throughout the season.

“I think it’s just kind of getting the girls used to the new regime,” Mendoza said. “It’s a little different from the past and I think this win will help bring them together and hopefully get that confidence going. We talked all offseason about playing for one another and playing together and it showed tonight. I’m hoping that this is something that we can build on.”

There was a lot that Mendoza saw in his team tonight when it came to communication, signaling and confidence, but there was something special that he noticed tonight.

“Honestly, I think that it was just the way that we responded,” Mendoza said. “We had a rough first half of the (first) inning and we couldn’t let that affect us. This team rallied around each other and supported each other. You know, we worked through the errors and the mistakes and we came back. We got some runs from their pitcher and just took off. I think just playing for one another and really understanding the team concept and not letting that selfish play come in or selfish idea. Just playing like a team is what stood out to me.”

The first inning was not a pretty one to start for Desert Edge. The Hawks got two runs due to miscommunication and misconnections with the pitcher and catcher, giving Buckeye a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Soon after that, a change was made at catcher and after that switch, Desert Edge flipped the script.

When their opportunity came to bat next, Desert Edge scored four runs in the first and second innings, turning the game on its head and making it an 8-2 game. They then scored one run in the fifth and hit a big home run in the sixth, making the score 10-2.

Since giving up two runs in the first, Desert Edge’s defense played lights-out and didn’t give up any more runs until the top of the seventh while also allowing only three total hits the entire matchup.

A huge part of this great defensive performance was because of pitcher Makayla Dudley, who had 14 strikeouts over six innings.

“Honestly, I’m just going to carry this performance on and help my team out,” Dudley said. “Just gotta keep pitching and giving them that confidence on the field that I don’t have to give them off the field.”

Dudley knows that as long as they keep doing what the team did tonight, they’re going to go beyond the Edge this season.

“I think supporting each other is important," Dudley said. “Support, support, support is really big, especially since we didn’t really have a good first inning. We had each other’s backs and we were just ready to play tonight.”

To end the game, Buckeye scored two runs in the seventh, but eventually got struck out to end the game 10-4.

The biggest contributor to tonight’s game on the offensive side was Ely Rivera, who had four hits and three runs on the night. This performance made her feel great about herself and her team overall.

“I feel good,” Rivera said. “I mean, I think that this was definitely a good start to the season. I think moving forward with trusting myself and my teammates, I think we have a great season coming ahead of us.”

It’s very hard to carry winning momentum consistently, but Rivera knows that she and her team can do it.

“I think if we continue to cheer each other on, support each other, constantly talking, and turn communication up,” Rivera said. “As long as we’re just behind each other, I think we’ll be really good this season. We’re not just a team, but we’re sisters. We’re family.”

Desert Edge will be having their next matchup on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.