Mexico wins gold in South American Softball Championship
Sonoran players Ximena Piri, Rosalba Ramírez and Ana Paula Óquita savored the title, as did coach Janeth Wilson.
The Mexican women's softball team, with three players from Sonora, won the gold medal and the crown of the sixth South American U-15 Championship after defeating Peru 1-0 in the final at the end of the tournament held in Manta, Ecuador.
Sonora players Ximena Piri, Rosalba Ramírez and Ana Paula Óquita were part of the national team that won the title on Saturday in a tournament in which they only lost one game and won six.
Besides the three softball players from our state, there was another Sonora native on the team, Janeth Wilson, who was part of the coaching staff, and under the orders of the manager of the national team, César Alcaraz, acted as first base coach.
Pitcher Miranda Salcido had a great opening day on Saturday with a shutout of just three hits and eleven strikeouts, and her offense scored the winning run in the sixth inning to give Mexico the crown of the event in which six teams from five nations were in action.
The only run of the game came in the sixth inning when two errors by Peruvian middle infielder Isabella Melei were combined, the second one being the cause of the run, as she let a Mitay Valle's roller go, which allowed the emerging runner Valeria Hernandez -who replaced Ximena Piri after the Sonora native had reached the starting lineup on an occupied ball- to score the winning run.
The Mexicans had seven hits, with Bianca Durán going 4-3, while Jenny Robledo and Mitay Valle had 3-2; while the Sonorans were unable to get a hit as Piri and Óquita went 3-0 and Ramírez 2-0.
Although the Sonorans did not give up any hits in the final, their offense was tremendous throughout the tournament, in fact, Ximena Piri hit one of the two bunt homers that were connected in the entire championship.
Due to the game system, Mexico held their last three games against Peru; the first one, in the regular season, they lost 2-0, however, they won the most important ones: the semifinal (3-1) and the final (1-0), to dominate the trilogy between both teams.
The Peruvians were trying to get revenge and win the gold medal after defeating Brazil 7-1 on Friday in the match that defined the other finalist, but succumbed in the attempt after suffering a "lechada" at the hands of the Mexicans.
