By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Ithalia Ozuna was dialed in all night long against Laredo United South.
The Del Rio High School sophomore missed throwing a perfect game Tuesday night by just two batters, settling instead for her first varsity no-hitter as the Queens softball team notched its fourth district win in a row with a 7-0 shutout of the Lady Panthers.
It’s the second shutout of the season for Ozuna, who also held Laredo Nixon to just four hits in a five-inning, 10-0 win via the run rule just eight days earlier. She has not allowed a run in her last 15 innings pitched.
The victory over United South was also Ozuna’s third straight win. She earned the win in Del Rio’s 4-3 nine-inning decision against Laredo Alexander March 16.
Ozuna faced just two batters over the minimum Tuesday night in Laredo, allowing one walk to Anitza Gutierrez in the first inning and one walk to Anahi Martinez in the third. Ozuna would retire the last 14 batters she’d face in the game. She also had five strikeouts in the contest.
Ozuna helped her own cause in the third inning to get Del Rio’s offense going. She smacked a one-out single to left field and later scored on a Jada Bishop double to stake the Queens to a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Del Rio would strike for five runs which proved to be more than enough for Ozuna to work with.
Rebekah Alcaraz singled and scored on a Mi’amor Salazar double to kick off the fifth inning. Two batters later, Salazar would score on an error to make it a 3-0 game. Nayleah Santana, who’d singled earlier, would score on a passed ball to push the lead to 4-0.
Ozuna would later walk and eventually score on a Hope Martinez single to centerfield to push the score to 5-0. Bishop, who also walked in the inning, would follow Ozuna home on a ground ball by Kayla Mendoza to give the Queens a 6-0 advantage.
The Queens would cap their scoring in the top of the sixth inning after Ozuna singled and later scored her third run of the game on a single by Martinez that helped make the final 7-0.
As a team the Queens rocked United South for 15 hits. Ozuna was 3-for-4 with three runs scored score and a walk. Bishop, Martinez and Alcaraz each had two hits in the game. Martinez also had two RBIs while Bishop and Alcaraz each drove in one.
Desiree Gomez, Christi Colunga, Salazar and Santana finished with one hit each. Salazar also had a run scored and an RBI.
Del Rio closes out the first half of district play Friday night when they host the Eagle Pass Lady Eagles at 7 p.m. at the Queens Softball Field. Junior varsity will play at 5 p.m.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
