Good clean-up hitters are rally-finishers, run-producers and game-breakers. They're capable of changing the complexion of a game with one swing of the bat.

Sophomore shortstop Brittney Rivas was both for the Pioneer softball team during a Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division game against visiting Branham on April 8. Her four-hit performance was capped with a tie-breaking, three-run homer in the sixth inning. The result was an 8-5 victory for the Mustangs, their second division win in four tries.

Rivas, who led off Pioneer's first with a single but didn't score, started a three-run rally in the third after Branham had scored four times in the top half of the inning. She belted a one-out double to left-center and stole third. Then, on teammate Katie Town's bouncer to the right side of the infield, Rivas broke toward home. She scored the Mustangs' first run by diving headlong across home plate, beating the throw of a Bruin infielder.

In the fourth, with senior Stephanie Morales on second and two outs, Rivas prolonged the inning with a base hit. She promptly stole second, then scored on Town's two-run single to right-center. Town's hit put Pioneer ahead 5-4.

Branham tied the game in the sixth when freshman Angela Hayes hustled home on junior Melissa Enko's groundout, but Pioneer responded in the bottom of the inning.

Morales blooped a single to start the inning. After an out, Caitlynn Steinberg reached on an infield hit, setting the stage for Rivas. She belted a sinking line drive to center field that skipped past the outfielders for a three-run homer.

Town followed with a walk, but Branham survived further damage by getting an inning-ending double play with some nifty bunt defense. Nicki Rebhan laid down a nice sacrifice attempt, but Bruin freshman Michelle Haughey dashed in from third base, gloved the ball and threw on to Enko, the second baseman covering first, to get Rebhan out.

Meanwhile, Town never stopped running. After Enko took the throw at first, she quickly bounced off the bag and fired over to pitcher Holly Griggs, who had rotated over to cover third. Realizing she was not going to make it safely, Town put on the brakes and tried to scamper back to second. But Griggs threw to shortstop Audrea Lopez, who tagged Town for the third out.

Freshman left-hander Terry Hreha, who had taken the mound for the Mustangs in the midst of Branham's four-run third, had little trouble closing out the win. She did walk Kacey Foltz, but was able to retire Lopez and Jaimie Foltz on line drives to the outfield and Hayes on a comebacker.

K. Foltz, a sophomore catcher, made two big plays in the third inning for Branham. First, she crushed a two-run triple to left field to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead. Earlier, Enko walked and eventually stole home for the Bruins' first run. Griggs, who also walked, made it 2-0 when she scored on Haughey's single to left.

In the bottom of the third, Foltz ended Pioneer's rally by picking off a Mustang runner off of third base.

For Branham, which suffered a 1-0 defeat to Mt. Pleasant two days earlier, it was the fourth straight loss without a win in the division, the Bruins' new home after going 9-1 and winning the Santa Teresa circuit in 2004.

Branham has been led by first-year head coach Jennifer McGrath, who is assisted by her father, Bob McGrath. The younger McGrath, a teacher at Branham, took over the squad on short notice when Rob Piper and Tim Fullerton accepted an offer to coach at St. Francis.

The McGraths are coaching a team that has just two seniors, Michelle Yankee and Tiffany Rubino, to go along with five juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen. The Bruins, 4-6 in non-league games, were looking for their first Mt. Hamilton win on April 13 when they hosted Oak Grove. Their next action is not slated until April 20 at Santa Teresa and April 22 against visiting Leland.

The Chargers recently suffered their first loss of the season, 2-0 to Leigh on April 6. Paced by the pitching of junior Vanessa Truan and the hitting of junior Christina Saenz, Leland had rolled to a 12-0 record before the defeat at Leigh.

Saenz, who entered a game at Mt. Pleasant on April 13 with a team-high .548 batting average and 12 RBIs, rapped two doubles against Leigh, but couldn't score. Truan, Kristen Rorie, Sara Boring and Ashleigh Adams also had hits for the Chargers, but the Longhorns were able to keep them from scoring.

Leigh scored both of its runs in the bottom of the first off of Truan, who allowed just four hits in the game. Truan struck out nine Longhorns, raising her strikeout total to 138 in 86 innings. She has pitched all but two innings for the Chargers this season, putting together a tiny 0.49 earned run average.

Leland, whose home game against Westmont on April 8 was rained out, is scheduled to host Pioneer on April 15 and Oak Grove on April 20. Both games are set for 3:30 p.m.