The three-time defending big-school softball champs aren't as fleet afoot as last season. It lost its entire outfield to graduation where much of that speed resided. That won't matter much, however, if Red Mountain continues to hit as well as it has the first week of 2013.

The Lady Lions scored nine runs in the final two innings off 11 hits Tuesday and outlasted Gilbert, 13-7, in a see-saw affair at Gilbert High.

It was the first power-ranking game for both schools, who competed last week in Red Mountain's Lion Country Classic. They each played seven games over three days so the bats, gloves and arms were warmed up. Red Mountain improved to 7-1 overall and Gilbert slipped to 4-4.

Red Mountain is averaging almost nine runs per game in its eight games to date.

"Hitting is our MO right now," Red Mountain coach Rich Hamilton said. "We keep on hitting. We're still young starting two seniors, but we have a lot of softball experience. We have work to do in other areas, but the hitting is nice to have out of the gate." 

Red Mountain didn't have a hit the first two innings, but made up for that with 18 over the next five innings off Gilbert's Lynsey Duncan. Red Mountain hitters also did not strike out  in the game keeping constant pressure on Gilbert's defense.

After posting three runs on three hits and two Gilbert errors in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead, Red Mountain was in for a battle. Gilbert tied the game in the bottom of the third on a three-run homer by Gilbert shortstop Dani Nelson. The host Tigers took the lead twice -- 4-3 after 4 innings and 5-4 after five following an attempted double steal that plated the go-ahead run prior to the other runner getting tagged out in a rundown.

Leading the way for Red Mountain offensively were senior T.J. Beeson and juniors Jordan Beck, Marian Ruf,  Bre Macha and Alex Wiley.  Beeson, had a single, double and home run, scored three times and drove in four runs. Her two-run bomb in the sixth snapped a 5-5 tie and gave the Lady Lions the lead for good Beck drove in three runs with two singles and drew three walks. Ruf had three hits, singled to start the game-winning rally in the sixth and homered to ignite a six-run seventh inning. Wiley and Macha had three hits each with Macha driving in two runs as well as going the distance in the circle for her fourth win of the young season. Every Red Mountain starter had at least one hit.

"The thing I like is this team has shown confidence that it can come back and keeps coming back," Hamilton said. "We've won games in the sixth and seventh innings because they don't give up."

Nelson was the standout for Gilbert, both offensively and defensively. Nelson went 3-for-4 with four RBI and robbed Red Mountain of two more hits by making a play in the hole to her right and snaring a grounder up the middle to her left and throwing the runner out. Emma Ocker and Alex Astorga had two hits each, setting the table for Nelson in the 1-2 spots in the order.