Academy softball routs Bernalillo, claims district title

Call her a weapon, call her an asset, call her completely invaluable to the cause. On Tuesday, Melissa Purcella fit all those descriptions in bulk.

The Albuquerque Academy senior has a Division I career awaiting her on the East Coast, at Rider University in New Jersey, but she seems quite intent on ending her prep days with the Chargers with a flourish.

Purcella tossed a five-hitter in the circle for Academy in a showdown with visiting Bernalillo, and she also drove in five runs — including a three-run, walkoff home run in the bottom of the sixth — as Academy belted the Spartans 14-2 in what amounted to a winner-take-all game for the District 6-4A softball championship.

Academy (15-9 overall) finished 6-2 in league as they closed their regular season. Bernalillo (13-11) is 5-2, but the Chargers hold the tiebreaker for first place even if the Spartans win their season finale Friday against Valley.

“We had faced a lot of adversity, on and off the field, in the last two weeks (since we first played Bernalillo),” Chargers coach Haley Parson said. “We learned we could be a gritty team.”

The Spartans’ 3-2 win over Academy on April 12 put Bernalillo in the position Tuesday of clinching the district regular-season title itself if it could sweep the Chargers.

But Academy was in control the whole way, led by Purcella (13-4), who struck out 10 Spartans in her complete game.

“We came out with a lot of anger,” Purcella said. “We definitely should have beaten them the first time, so we knew we could beat them.”

Catcher Sydney Koranyi led off the bottom of the first for Academy with a home run. The Chargers tacked on three more runs in the third for a 4-0 lead. Academy took advantage of two walks to open the bottom of the fourth and scored three more runs for a 7-0 lead.

At 7-1, the Chargers put up another three spot in the bottom of the fifth.

And then Purcella ripped a shot over the right field fence — her 10th homer of the year — in the sixth to send both teams home. Purcella was 3-for-3 with those five RBIs.

Koranyi had a big game from the leadoff spot, with four hits in five at-bats, and two RBIs. Shortstop Bella Swanson had three hits and four runs for Academy, which Purcella said attacked balls much earlier in the count than they did in the first matchup with Bernalillo.

“Huge statement of a win,” Parson said.

Now the Chargers await their postseason seeding fate. The state tournament brackets for Class 4A will be announced this weekend.