Two tournaments. Two championship-game berths. And Wednesday afternoon a  tournament title.

Gilbert, displaying all facets of its game, put the hammer down on Hamilton by posting a 15-4 win over the Huskies to win the Marcos de Niza-McClintock Softball Invitational at Marcos de Niza High School.

Gilbert, a 5A-I semifinalist last season, amassed 17 hits in the six-inning game, played flawless defense and never let Hamilton feel it was in the game. The Tigers scored four runs in the first inning andf were up 8-0 after 2 1/2.  Gilbert, which lost nearly three weeks ago to Basha in the championship game of the Lion Country Classic at Red Mountain, stretched its overall record to 15-2.

Hamilton (8-4) had won seven of its last eight games and suffered its only loss of the tournament after going 5-0 in pool play at McClintock High the last three days.

Gilbert got three hits apiece from Taylor McCord and Dani Bartholf and two each from Lynsey Duncan, Marisa Stankiewicz and MacKenzie Garretson. McCord, who also pitched all six innings although not overpowering, had three RBI as did Garretson. Stankiewicz and Bartholf.

Gilbert turned a 5-4-3 double play behind McCord and threw out two three runners on the base paths (two trying to score). Stankiewicz made the play of the game at catcher snaring a high throw and coming down with a qucik swipe tag to nab one of the outs at home.

Gilbert, with just a little more than half its regular-season complete (the Tigers have 14 power-point games left and are 4-0 in the ones they have played), can be considered one of the top contenders in Division I along with Basha and Red Mountain. The Tigers returned a good chunk of its core players from last year and freshman Duncan has helped plug the pitching hole left by graduated sister, Michelle. One of Gilbert's losses is to Basha and it defeated Red Mountain two weeks ago at Red Mountain.

Hamilton coach Keith Householder knows pitching is his team's biggest weakness and has said so from the get-go. The Huskies will have to outslug opponents to be in contention for a playoff spot this season. Hamilton is 3-3 thus far in power-point games and has allowed an average of 10 runs in those games.