Home and away, Vidalia has its way with Los Alamos County, downing the New Mexico Senior Softball Little League champions

The final score was 13-0, at the Southwest Regional in Louisiana on Sunday. Los Alamos County falls into loser’s bracket after opening with win, and next plays tonight’s loser of the Texas East-Texas West contest on Tuesday

By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today

Vidalia, Louisiana — No doubt it was an adventurous trip via the highways followed by overwhelming Colorado, 24-0, Saturday to open the Southwest Little League Senior Softball Regional.

But on Sunday, it all came to an abrupt halt when a familiar foe, the host team from Vidalia, came away with its own hit parade in shutting down the New Mexico state champion Los Alamos County, 13-0, to drop the previously unbeaten visitors into the loser’s bracket and putting a dent into their quest to gain the International World Series in Lower Sussex, Del.

Now manager Robbie Harris’ team on Tuesday will play the loser of tonight’s game that matches Texas East with Texas West.

Vidalia, which has appeared in five Junior Little League Softball Regional in Santa Fe, and in last year’s Regional in Los Alamos, had things pretty much its way in its opening game after seeing the team from the Land of Enchantment rout Colorado.

It struck quickly against the girls who took the long ride via the highways.

New Mexico again started right-hander Savana Luster and the hosts had their faithful fans cheering early as they scored al the runs they would need with three in the top of the first inning. They added five in the second, three in the third, and one each in the fourth and fifth.

They put together 20 hits and held Los Alamos County to three. And at the end of five frames, the mercy-rule was applied. It was a year ago that Vidalia itself took to the road and blanked host Los Alamos, 6-0, in the Juniors up on the hill.

And there were quite a few members of that team, the regional runner-up, who moved up to the seniors for back-to-back wins over Los Alamos, which is now in the consolation round of the double-elimination format.

Wearing number one, Alyssa Howard swung a big bat last time, and on her home field of the Concordia Recreation Complex, did so again with four hits and four RBI. Shelby Cross was another familiar face as she, too, batted in four runs with four hits. And Marlee Magee also knocked in four runs.

And in the circle was Jensen Gremillion, who started last year’s final against Texas West and was hit hard in the five-inning contest. This time she came through with a shutout while striking out six and walking two, both to Lauren Harris, one of two daughters on the roster managed by their dad.

“We never got our bats going,” said the manager, “and the strike zone was the tightest we’ve seen all season, which made it tough on our pitchers.”

Meanwhile, the two Texas representatives go at it today as East meets West and New Mexico gets the loser.

Same in the junior softball regional played in New Mexico at Isleta Pueblo after East won handily over the New Mexico champions from Clovis American, 10-0, and West did the same by topping Louisiana’s state champions from Vidalia, 16-6.

Then the Texas West team from the Greater Helotes routed the host Westgate Little League, 15-0, while the Texas East out of the Sinton Little

League hung a 11-0 loss on the Westminster LL from Colorado. So East meets West in a key winner’s bracket test.

Back in Louisiana, Texas East won 13-3 over the Arkansas state champions to set up the contest against its fellow state champions from the West.