Basha rendered a very good Sunnyside softball team defenseless Tuesday afternoon on the opening day of the 16th Desert Mountain Invitational.

Basha slugged six home runs and totated 10 extra-base hits in all in drubbing Sunnyside, 17-1, at Horizon Park.

There was no excessive wind. Hardly any at all. Basha (12-1) managed to crush most everything two Sunnyside pitchers tossed its way. Only one Basha starter went hitless on the day, a day when the Lady Bears only batted in four innings and totaled 17 hits.

"I love playing in this tournament,  the Red Mountain Tournament, too," Basha coach Scott Hoffmeyer said. "The competition is great in both. Today we hit the ball well. There are no easy games."

Basha made this one look easy because they hit and not because Sunnyside (9-5) couldn't field or walked lots of hitters (Sunnyside committed one error and issued only one walk).

However, it was a good at-bat by Basha No. 3 hitter Kylie Shull in the bottom of the first after Sunnyside grabbed a 1-0 lead that kick-started the homer epidemic and scoring assault. Shull fouled off a couple 3-2 pitches spotted on the outside corner by Sunnyside starter Alexis Ayala. The final 3-2 offering missed the edge and found the middle of the plate. It soon found the grass beyond the left-field fence for a two-run homer and a lead Basha maintained to the finish.

Shull finished  3-for-3 with two home runs and five RBI. Brittany Medina, hitting in the No. 8 spot, saw three pitches in her first two at-bats. Two of those went for homers and she ended up 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI. Medina's second homer, a solo shot, opened the third. The Lady Bears scored five in the that inning, the latter four courtesy of a grand slam by Hailee Siroky. The Lady Bears final homer came in the fourth, a two-run blast by Brielle Breland, who also added a triple.

Basha was not without a table-setter amidst its power display. Lefty-hitting No. 2 hitter Courtney Hiruko was 3-for-3 plus a hit by pitch. She scored four times and all three hits were solid shots the opposite way. 

Sunnyside got two hits each from Adriana Rosthenhausler and Kalynn Martinez. The Lady Blue Devils got a chance to bounce back later on Tuesday facing Mesquite.Sunnyside prevailed in that one, 10-0. Sunnyside finishes pool play on Friday (March 22) with games at 3 p.m. against Paradise Valley and 5 p.m. vs. Mesa High. Basha plays again Wednesday (March 20) against Pinnacle at 7 p.m. at Horizon Park.