Arizona Western stays alive at NJCAA World Series with dominant 10-1 victory

OXFORD, Ala. (KYMA) - The Arizona Western College softball team kept its season alive Tuesday afternoon with a dominant 10-1 run-rule victory over the San Jacinto Ravens in five innings at the NJCAA Softball World Series.

The win marked the Lady Matadors' first victory at the national tournament since 2014 and snapped an eight-year stretch without scoring a run on the World Series stage.

After being shutout 3-0 in their tournament opener Monday night, Arizona Western responded with an offensive explosion early against the Ravens at Choccolocco Park.

All-American pitcher Jessica Smith set the tone in the top of the first inning with a strikeout and a clean frame in the circle.

The Matadors quickly backed their ace in the bottom half of the inning. With two runners on, sophomore third basemen Larissa Rueda, lined a single up the middle to score Lea Frechette and give Arizona Western an early 1-0 lead.

Two batters later, freshman catch Aaliyah Soderlund delivered a massive swing. With two on and two outs, Soderlund crushed a three-run home run to left-center field, her fifth homer of the season to put the Matadors ahead 4-0.

Arizona Western continued to pile on runs throughout the afternoon. Leading 6-1 in the fourth inning with two runners aboard, sophomore first basemen Analy Trejo drove a double into the right-center field gap, bringing home two more runs as the Matadors pulled away.

The hot bats combined with Smith's stellar pitching performance. She tossed a complete game in the circle, earning her 19th win of the season. Smith now owns an absurd 1.19 ERA on the year.

Following the game, Trejo said the breakthrough win provided a major condience boost for the team.

"It feels incredible, it feels so good to finally to break through," Trejo said. "The last time we didn't win anything and now, we've finally pushed through and I feel we have all the momentum right now."

Soderlund said the team's offensive performance could help set the tone moving forward.

"I just wanted to get the team going with a lot of runs," Soderlund said. "I'm glad we scored 10 today. Hopefully, this sets the tone for everything going forward and we can take it home."

Arizona Western stays alive in the elimination bracket and will now face the No. 12 seed Volunteer State Pioneers Wednesday morning.

First pitch is scheduled for 7 a.m. Mountain time.