Southwest drops Canada in second World Series win

The Southwest contenders in the World Series, from San Antonio, Texas, felt right at home as temperatures rose into the upper 90s at the Pyle Center for their second game of the tournament. Southwest opened up Day 2 of the Senior League Softball World Series with a steady showing at the plate against Canada, and finished strong with 12-1 win, padding their series record to 2-0.

At the top of the lineup, Alexandra Losoya and Gabrielle Winkler found bases for Southwest by way of walks, and Ryler Moreno loaded up the bases early in the first inning with a single to center field. Cleanup batter Henessey Soto popped out to left field, but the ball had enough distance for Losoya to tag up and get the first run of the game for Southwest.

Megan Aragones brought heat from the mound, firing in six strikeouts in the win and allowing no runs on four hits in the first four innings. Aragones relieved Soto from her 4-3 win on Monday against Southeast.

Southwest’s bats began kicking on all cylinders, too, as Losoya and Gabrielle Winkler extended the lead in the second with RBI’s. Careless errors from Canada allowed Southwest to round the bases in the third and fourth with strategic short ball.

Southwest picked up eight runs on five hits in the fourth inning alone, as Canada’s relief pitcher, Amanda Simke, struggled to find her footing. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Canada tried to answer back, as an error allowed Cortnee Burgess to steal home, but the damage had been done and the deficit was too great to overcome.

Savannah Jackson stepped up to the rubber for Southwest in the final inning to secure the win, picking up a strikeout and allowing one run. Soto finished the day with two RBI’s. Felicia Sanchez, Ryler Moreno, Charity Fuller, Aragones, Lasoya and Winkler each tallied up an RBI in the victory.

“We were definitely more focused today,” said Southwest manager Joseph Losoya. “We came out a little more aggressively than the first day, and we were able to drive a few more runners in.”

With a comfortable 2-0 record, the Southwest sat atop their bracket, but as Losoya knows, there’s no time to lie back.

“We have to face a strong Latin American team on Tuesday,” he said. “No one’s going to roll over and give us a win.”