Red Mountain softball isn't the same as it was when it won five successive big-school titles between 2010 and 2014. Solid pitching was a staple of those championships.

The current Mountain Lions, however, have fashioned a formula for winning just the same. It's worked reasonably well.

Hitting and defense rule Red Mountain's present state. Those areas were a good part of Tuesday's 8-7 victory over Horizon in a Division I game at Red Mountain. Red Mountain, which coughed up a five-run lead early, got a game-winning two-out, two-run double from Mya Davis in the bottom of the fifth to steal the lead back.

"We knew coming in this year we could hit and play defense," Red Mountain coach Rich Hamilton said. "Pitching was the question mark. We have a freshman doing most of the pitching. And a couple kids who haven't pitched much...... We're trying to make it work."

Red Mountain's victory was its 20th of the year against seven losses. The Mountain Lions entered play at No. 9 in the power rankings and are 9-4 in those games with five to play. They are in the hunt for their section title and a top-eight finish in the power rankings (which would net a huge first-round bye at state). And the two pitchers Hamilton used to hold off upset-minded Horizon (12-12 overall, 6-6 power-ranking games) came up big in their own way.

Freshman Alayna Hicks did not feel well an hour before game time, but ultimately told Hamilton she could make the start. Hicks made it through 3 1/3 innings and was staked to a 6-1 lead after two innings. A hit batter, three successive hits, a walk, throwing errror by Hicks and one more hit in the third accounted for Horizon's six-run rally. Three of those runs were unearned.

Reliever Kayden Bullock, who didn't pitch in a game until mid-March at the Desert Mountain Invitational, took over. Bullock proceeded to toss 3 2/3, no-hit, shutout innings.Bullock's toughest inning was the sixth. She hit Horizon's Gweneth Beagle with a pitch to open the inning. The Huskies leading hitter, Neeley Bell, pounded a sharp grounder to third. Backup third baseman Taylor Szathmary turned it into a nifty 5-4-3 double play. Bullock walked the next two hitters keeping the pressur on, but go the final out of the sixth on a called third strike. Bulllock has pitched just 24 innings this season.

"They both did a great job," Hamilton said. "Alayna gave us what she could, and she wasn't feeling  good. Kayden pitched really well. And Mya came through with the big hit."

The 8-7 score gives the feel the game was a slugfest, but both Hicks and Horizon's Morgan Leinstock deserved better. Most of the early hits were of the infield variety and a couple were flares dropping between fielders. Only about a fourth of the 16 hits the teams combined for were ripped with authority. Leinstock, who is also a freshman, allowed all eight runs, but only three were earned.

Gabby Moreno and Bell were each 1-for-3 each for Horizon. Moreno had two RBI and Bell one. McKenna Woods was 1-2, walked twice and had an RBI. Alyssa Honneywell and Sierra Davis had two hits apiece for Red Mountain.