Nelson Softball Splits with 'Storm

The Nelson Lady Warriors softball team (17-19) split a doubleheader on the road against the Arizona Christian Firestorm at ACU Softball Field, dropping Game 1 by a score of 8-4 before holding off a late rally for a 5-4 victory in Game 2.

Game 1: Arizona Christian 8, Nelson 4
After the Arizona Christian ladies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, Nelson cut the deficit in half in the top of the second when Stephany Aguirre drove in Emily Quigg with a double down the right-field line. But the Firestorm kept the heat on the Warriors, responding with two more runs in the bottom of the second to push the lead to 4-1.

The score remained 4-1 until the top of the fifth when the Warriors mounted a small rally cutting into their defecit. With runners on first and second, Quigg singled to center and advanced to second on the throw, scoring Briyanei Celaya. Vanessa Philpot followed with a single up the middle that scored Quigg and Charli York, shrinking the gap to 4-3 and putting the home crowd on edge.

However, the home team once again answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth then two more in the sixth to stretch the lead to 8-4, where it would stand for the remainder of the game.

Estevannie Rojas and Emily Quigg each recorded two hits in the loss while Araeya Cosay pitched a complete game, allowing 8 runs (6 earned) on 5 hits with 5 walks and 1 strikeout.

Game 2: Nelson 5, Arizona Christian 4
The nightcap was a tight, well-played contest that went down to the wire. Arizona Christian took an early 1-0 lead, but the Warriors stormed back with two runs in the third inning. Charli York put pressure on the Firestorm defense, forcing a two-out error on a throw to first by the shortstop that allowed Estevannie Rojas and Anais Valencia to score, giving Nelson the small 2-1 advantage.

In the fourth, Nelson added two more runs when Mikki Green singled in Emily Quigg with two outs, and later in the inning Kiley Hernandez singled to center with the bases loaded to drive in Amber Lopez. Araeya Cosay followed with a single to right that plated Valencia, extending the lead to 5-1.

Arizona Christian fought back with a run in the sixth and two more in the bottom of the seventh, but Kelly Katalbas was outstanding in the circle. She pitched a complete game to earn her 9th victory of the season, striking out a season-high 9 batters while shutting the door in the final inning.

See the Nelson Warriors' softball page for their upcoming schedule.

Do not forget to follow Nelson Athletics on X at @NelsonWarriors and Instagram at @nelsonwarriors.athletics.