Piedra Vista Dominates Linda Crabtree Softball Invitational With 10-0 Victory

Piedra Vista closed out the Linda Crabtree Memorial Softball Invitational at the Farmington Sports Complex with a commanding 10-0 run-rule victory over Lovington on Saturday, capping a tournament in which the host Panthers won four of five games and outscored opponents by a combined margin that left little doubt about their standing in the field.

Isabella Jessee supplied the offensive highlight of the finale, driving in four runs including a towering three-run home run in the second inning. Pitcher Michala Perea matched her with a dominant five innings in the circle, striking out nine batters while allowing only three hits and one walk. Lovington never scored, and the game ended after five innings via the run rule.

The Panthers built their lead methodically from the first pitch. Druscilla Nabors doubled, Perea walked, and Octaviana John reached on an error that allowed Perea to score the game's opening run. Tiyana Royce followed with an RBI single to push it to 2-0. The second inning turned decisive: a Lovington error allowed Olivia Chavez to score, Jessee launched her home run over the center-field fence, and John later scored on a passed ball to make it 7-0 before the frame ended. Piedra Vista added three more runs over the remaining innings to reach the final margin.

The tournament win capped a productive week for Piedra Vista. The Panthers opened against Kirtland Central, where senior pitcher Brookelynn Cadrain worked through a 6-5 grind, striking out 10 while the offense drove in six runs on five RBIs to escape with the win. Against the Santa Fe Demons, sophomore Octaviana John took the circle and allowed just one hit with no walks or runs in a 16-0 blowout that saw Piedra Vista collect 14 hits, 15 RBIs, and 16 runs including a home run. John also closed a 17-0, three-inning shutout of Albuquerque Academy with a strikeout on Saturday afternoon. MaxPreps recorded a separate 6-0 Piedra Vista win over Aztec on Saturday as well, giving the Panthers their fifth consecutive victory by that point in the tournament.

The Linda Crabtree Invitational itself drew a notably large field for a regional event. Head coach Kevin Werth, whose program hosted the tournament, said the revival after a COVID-era pause exceeded expectations. "We started this tournament in 2007 and took a hiatus when COVID hit," Werth said. "Then our athletic directors wanted to bring it back this year, so we did — and had a good response. Twenty-something teams, both JV and varsity, lots of traffic — great for the softball community. Great experience, I think. I hope everybody had a good time here and enjoyed it."

Beyond Piedra Vista's run, Kirtland Central's Rory Benally authored one of the tournament's individual standout performances, tossing a three-inning, complete-game no-hitter against Albuquerque Academy with seven strikeouts. Her teammates backed her with a 13-run second inning; Kiana Tsosie went 2-for-4 and scored four times, while Cailyn Belin went 2-for-3 with two RBIs including a two-run double in the first inning.

Other notable results from the three-day event included Farmington defeating Silver 5-3, Bloomfield routing Silver 22-8, and Kirtland Central defeating Portales 12-0 on Saturday. Earlier in the tournament, Farmington beat Bloomfield 21-0 and Lovington topped Farmington 5-0.

Piedra Vista carried a 9-5-1 overall record into the final day and left Farmington with momentum heading into the back half of the regular season.