• Prev
• 1 of 4
• Next

THROUGHOUT their IIAAG High School Girls Softball League match yesterday, the Guam High Panthers kept a positive attitude and were all smiles no matter what the situation.

Squaring off against a very respectable George Washington Geckos squad, Guam High used their “have fun” mentality as motivation and was able to pick up a 6-5 victory over their opponents. The victory was the Panthers’ second of the season.

“We just played our game today having a lot of fun and staying pumped up. It was about staying positive no matter what situation we faced and we fed off GW’s energy too,” Guam High senior Ashley Heffelfinger said.

GW was first to strike early in the first inning as they took a quick 1-0 lead. Chelsae San Miguel was able to make her way around the bases courtesy of Guam High errors. However, after retiring the Geckos side, Guam High went to work on their side of the plate.Led by Kayla Blend’s RBI-triple, the Panthers were able to post four runs on the board to take a 4-1 lead.

The Geckos were able to chip away at the Panthers lead in the second inning to make it a 4-2 game. After Marika Miyasaki took first on bases on balls, teammate Desirae Gumataotao smacked a hard hit to the outfield driving in Miyasaki. Guam High threatened to add more runs to their tally in the bottom half as they loaded the bases with their first three batters. However, GW was able to get itself out of a jam by retiring the side without harm.

After allowing the Geckos to make it a one-run (4-3) game in the top half of the third, Guam High responded by scoring a run of their own. With teammate Zaria Kelly at third, Taylor Tyer hit an RBI-single that allowed Kelly to touch home for a 5-3 lead.Heading into the top of the fifth inning, GW found themselves down 6-3. Miyasaki led a mini-surge by her team and drove in two runs on a long single to cut the Gecko deficit. Guam High was able to force GW to hit a fly ball for the inning’s final out and held on to a slim 6-5 lead.

With darkness setting in, GW had one last at-bat in the top of the sixth to either tie the game or take the lead in hopes of extending the game. However, the Panthers retired their opponent’s side with three batters coming to the plate and three batters being retired in order.

“GW made a move late in the game, but we continued to play as if the game was still 0-0. We hung in there, had fun, and just played until the end. We didn’t let what the score reflected get to us,” Blend said.