Henry Greenstein is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Marcos de Niza High School for AZPreps365.com

After one and a half innings, the Marcos de Niza Padres trailed the American Leadership Academy - Queen Creek (ALA-QC) Patriots 6-0, and it seemed like the 10-run mercy rule might soon come into play and end the game prematurely.

By the end of the night, however, it was the Padres (1-3) invoking the rule after plating 10 runs in the sixth inning alone, and winning 18-7 against the Patriots (0-3) Tuesday night in Tempe.

“We got the energy back up,” Padres catcher Arianna Chiago said. “Everybody was down after everybody was making mistakes, and after that, you just gotta hit people in the butt and say, ‘You know what, fix it next time you’re out there.’”

After plenty of back-and-forth action in the middle innings, Chiago’s two-RBI, bases-loaded single in the fifth inning gave Marcos a lead it did not relinquish.

The situation had seemed dire early for Marcos. ALA-QC’s junior third baseman Makenna Holland tripled on the first pitch of the game. In fact, she and junior catcher Asia Jones both tripled in each of the first two innings, en route to the Patriots building a 6-0 lead against Marcos pitcher Raelynn Reyes.

Undaunted, the Padres added their first run when substitute baserunner Anali Chavarria got caught in a rundown past third base yet somehow managed to reach home plate. Then Reyes followed that effort with a shutout inning, and the mood began to change.

“The girls found the vibe, got up, started talking,” Marcos coach Thad Rosenthal said.

Reyes only allowed one more run — on a fifth inning RBI single —  for the remainder of the game, and meanwhile, Marcos commenced its offensive onslaught. Though freshman pitcher Sophia Papponetti remained effective for the Patriots, she was hurt by her defense. The Padres scored four runs in the third inning to make it 6-5, helped by two errors that allowed runners to reach base. ALA-QC finished with six official errors and has allowed 55 runs in three games.

“Our pitcher, she did her job,” ALA-QC coach Laura Workman said. “[Marcos] did have some nice base hits, but they were followed by routine plays that we should have definitely had outs.”

As Reyes locked down the Patriots’ lineup in the middle innings, the Padres continued to chip away against Papponetti. Marcos took an 8-7 lead on Chiago’s two-RBI single in the fifth inning, before the floodgates opened in the sixth.

With one out and a runner on first, the Padres recorded four consecutive hits: RBI doubles by Liliana Abeyta and Ryleigh Calderon, a single by Chavarria and then one more RBI double for good measure from leadoff hitter Adriel Garcia to make it 11-7.

“Once they see that a couple people are doing good, they’re gonna be like ‘OK, we got this,’” Garcia said. “Everyone’s energy is gonna go straight up.”

The Padres were relentless, recording seven more runs in the inning using a combination of the Patriots’ errors, walks, an impromptu double steal and ultimately a bases-clearing double from Chavarria to push the margin above 10 runs and conclude the game. 

Marcos may have emerged with its first win of the season in its 4A Desert Sky opener, but still-winless ALA-QC will have a chance at revenge right away. The teams have a rematch — this time in Queen Creek — scheduled for 3:45 p.m. Friday.