Johnson, Rivera hurl C-City into regional quarterfinals

Heading into the 2021 season, Colorado High School head coach Kara LaLeux knew she had two pitchers that could give fits.

Riley Johnson and Kaci Rivera did just that over the weekend as they helped power Colorado City into the third round of the Class 2A state softball playoffs by leaving the Sunray Lady Bobcats in knots. Knots as in tied up and nots, as not many hits or runs in a two-game postseason sweep in the Area round. The two limited state-ranked Sunray to just four runs while striking out 29 batters.

With the win, Colorado City punched its way into the regional quarterfinals to face off with Ralls.

The Lady Wolves, who were led offensively by Mia Monroe, didn’t waste any time in taking control of their Area showdown with Sunray, which came into the contest at 20-4.

Monroe went 3-for-4 from the plate, scratched out a run in the top of the first inning and never looked back en route to a 9-3 decision. Rivera plated C-City’s first run by pounding out a run-scoring double.

Johnson was more than dominant in the pitching circle for C-City. The Lady Wolves standout limited Sunray to just three runs on three hits over seven innings. In the affair, she fanned 16 SHS batters while not issuing a walk.

With Johnson mowing down the Sunray batters, the Lady Wolves’ bats took care of the rest. Overall, CHS racked up 11 hits. In addition to three hits from Monroe, Colorado City also picked up multiple hits Mallory Kern and Sheree Vanderpool.

Rivera put the final nail in Sunray’s coffin on Monday by hurling another gem at the Lady Bobcats. En route to leading the CHS girls to a 22-1 rout, Rivera gave up just one run on three hits, while striking out 13. Like Johnson, she did not issue a walk through her five innings of work.

Offensively, Monroe enjoyed another monster performance at the plate to lead the Lady Wolves. She drove in four runs on three hits.

After a first-inning blast by Johnson had helped C-City take a lead in the first, the Lady Wolves revved up its offense in the second. The CHS girls pounded out eight runs in the inning and stretched its lead to 10-0. Johnson, Monroe, Vanderpool, Kern, and Rivera all moved runners across the plate with RBI in the inning.

Colorado City finished the contest with 22 hits in the game. Kern, Monroe, Madison Sims, Johnson, Rivera, Lina Rivera, and Vanderpool all had multiple hits. Kern led the CHS attack by going 4-for-5 from the plate.