No brooms, but St. Michael’s softball team had stellar pitching

After Raton’s softball team visited non-district opponent Santa Fe High Tuesday and added to the Demonettes’ lengthy losing streak, the Tigers made a visit to District 2-3A rival St. Michael’s Friday and were humiliated in a doubleheader setback.

The Lady Horsemen pieced things together in avenging the previous 12-2 loss at Raton back in April, and improved to 10-11 overall with the 10-0, 15-0 sweep, and won their first district game in 10 outings.

The Tigers dropped to 7-16 overall and 0-10 in district. They came up with only one hit on the day at Christian Brothers Athletic Complex, while St. Michael’s scored five times in the bottom of the sixth to wrap up game one. In the closer, it became a run-rule, 3-inning final when the Lady Horsemen tallied 13 times in the second frame.

St. Michael’s senior right-hander Mariah Valdez had one of her finest performances of a season in which she’s the team’s primary pitcher and hurled a no-hitter that included a dozen strikeouts. In game two, she added six more strikeouts and a lead-off single in the first inning was Raton’s only hit.

The next stop for the Lady Horsemen is a visit to District 2 first place Robertson Tuesday.