Madison Pickett was throwing heat during the second round of the CIF-SS Division 4 softball playoffs and Apple Valley’s batters simply had no answer for the Dos Pueblos ace.
With another complete game victory, the senior right hander led her Chargers to a 2-1 road victory over the Sun Devils on Tuesday afternoon.
The MIT-bound Pickett tossed seven innings, giving up just one earned run on seven hits and striking out nine batters.
Leading the way for the Dos Pueblos offense was junior third baseman Anya Schmitz, who went 2 for 3 with a run batted in. Also making her presence felt at the plate was sophomore outfielder Nova Sinskul, who went 2-4 with one run scored.
In the top of the first inning, the Chargers jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage. With a high fly to deep left field, Lauren Marmo drove in Sinskul. This was followed by an RBI single from Schmitz, which scored Marmo.
With a solo shot from Victoria Edwards in the bottom of the sixth, Apple Valley cut the lead to 2-1. However, Pickett never surrendered a hit for the remainder of the game.
With the victory, Dos Pueblos (21-7 overall) advances to the CIF Quarterfinals where they will face fifth-seeded La Quinta on Thursday afternoon.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Blake DeVine can be reached at bdevine@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.