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Lady Vikes ranked fourth in state with Joseph City and Sedona wins

Lady Vike Maddie Jensen throws the ball from second base to home during the April 4 game with Joseph City
Photo by Wendy Howell.

Lady Vike Maddie Jensen throws the ball from second base to home during the April 4 game with Joseph City

The Lady Vikes are on the move. Following two decisive wins over Joseph City and Sedona, the team moved to fourth in the 1A state rankings with a 5-3 record.

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Erica Rocha heads to first after a hit.

Not to be deterred by snowy conditions, the Lady Vikes travelled to Joseph City April 4 where they came from a 9-1 deficit to take home a 17-14 win over the Wildcats.

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Catcher Jaden Alvarado throws the ball to catch a runner at second base.

“We started out slow, but then a couple girls answered,” said head coach Travis Grantham.

The Lady Vikes rallied in the game with the Wildcats after Lady Vike Jaden Alvarado hit a homerun to get a rally started.

“That got us going and we started getting runners on; everybody started hitting the ball and we turned the tables on them,” Grantham said.

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Daniel Lopez fields a ball at shortstop.

Alvarado’s blast was followed soon after by a Jazlyn Romero grand slam. That hit, along with several others by the Lady Vikes, brought the girls ahead 14-9. The Wildcats responded with a sixth inning rally, bringing the score up to 14-14. The Lady Vikes held the team off by bringing home several more runs to win 17-14.

“They are a really good team,” Grantham said of the Wildcats. “They are one of the better teams we’ll see.”

Grantham said he is proud of the Lady Vikes’ play and looks forward to entering the final stretch of the season. He said Williams should be a contender for winning the 1A Central region and hopes the girls go far in the state tournament.

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Christian Ramirez holds a player at first.

“We are definitely a good team,” he said. “The problem is that we often play to the level we are playing. If we play a really good team, we play really well. If we play a team that’s not so good, we don’t play so well.”

Grantham said he has been working with the girls to play to their potential every game. He said sickness and injuries have hurt the team in past play.

The Lady Vikes faced two tough losses when they travelled to Mogollon March 28. The Lady Vikes lost both games of the doubleheader, 11-17, 15-17.

“We really should have beat them but we couldn’t get it done,” Grantham said. “We battled with them the whole way and ended up losing by two at the end of the game.”

Grantham said the second Mogollon game was similar to the Joseph City game, as the Lady Vikes were up 8-1, but let the Mustangs come back for the win.

Grantham said Joseph City and Mogollon are two of the toughest teams in the 1A Central region and in the state.

Mogollon is ranked second in the 1A Conference, and Joseph City is ranked sixth.

Grantham said Alvarado, Carli Grantham and Riley Heap provide leadership to the team as well as hitting power.

“Jaden has been a really good asset to the team, she is one of the best catchers in the state,” he said. “Carli is pitching well and Jazlyn and Riley are really helping the team.”

The Lady Vikes play Greyhills April 11, and then travel to Needles April 14.

The Vikings baseball team faced tough pitching by Bryndon Buckley at Joseph City, where the team was held to just two runs in a 7-2 loss. Francisco Ortiz went 1 for 3 and Tate Grantham went 1 for 1 bringing the only hits to the team. Ortiz had one RBI.

Pitcher Frankie Kramer went five innings with five strikeouts, two earned runs, and five hits.

The Vikings travelled to the Chandler Prep Tournament April 6-8 where they beat San Pasqual 10-3, but lost to Pima (12-6), Valley Union (6-5), and Scottsdale Prep (8-0).


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