GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - The Gridley Lady Bulldogs broke out their bats as they defeated the Colusa RedHawks 6-3 in a non-league matchup on Wednesday, April 19.

Gridley responded with the win the day before, where they suffered their lone Butte View League loss to Las Plumas.

In the circle, sophomore ace Reese Stevens dealt Colusa a strong hand of strikes as she pounded the zone repeatedly.

Stevens trusted her defense to make plays as she allowed six hits and one strikeout in the complete game outing.

Lady Bulldogs assistant coach Ally Stephens expressed to the Herald that this was probably the most complete and best game Gridley has played all season. “Our hitting, defense and morale were all on fire and on point,” Stephens said.

Gridley (10-3, 2-1 Butte View League) had 10 hits throughout the game, including multi-hit games from senior catcher Gracie Dunning and junior outfielder Alexus Porcayo. Dunning said that they recognized pitches at the plate and were able to compose themselves and swing at good pitches throughout the rest of the game:

Dunning went two-for-four with two extra base hits and Porcayo went two-for-three with two singles.

Stephens added that one of Dunnings best attributes as a leader is her positivity around the entire squad.

“She’ll (Dunning) never tear anyone down and is always seen cheering her teammates on,” Stephens said.

Porcayo put the Lady Bulldogs on the board first when she singled in Stevens for a run-batted-in (RBI) in the second inning. She exclaimed to the Herald that once the team was able to adjust to the slower pitches in the box, they were able lift up the energy throughout the dugout.

On top of her great day at the plate, Porcayo also made great plays in right field as she was able to corral in some close plays. “My first instinct is always to take a step in towards the ball and give it my all to get the ball in the glove,” Porcayo said.

The Gridley lead was short-lived as Colusa tied the game in top of the third inning. The Lady Bulldogs took the lead back in the bottom of the fourth as Dunning hit a base clearing triple to take a 5-2 lead.

Stevens controlled the pitch count consistently as she threw a mountain of strikes to where she allowed two walks in the complete game.

Gridley senior second baseman Ana Williams knocked in Dunning in the bottom of the sixth for an insurance run.

Dunning added to her team leading 22 hits on the season, including her eighth and ninth extra-base hits on the year.

She said the adjustment she made at the plate was her mindset as the ball creeps towards closer.“My goal is always to not let striking out be an option for me.”

The Lady Bulldogs went back into BVL play as they hosted Orland on Tuesday. Orland and Gridley are ranked right next to one another in the MaxPreps rankings that were last released.

“We’re going to continue practicing hard on everything and come in Monday and work on some of the mistakes we had from today,” Stephens said.