Highland's softball team has a long week ahead of it and the Lady Hawks started it Monday afternoon on a good note.

Hollie Letourneau drove in five runs and highlighted an eight-run uprising in the sixth with a three-run homer as Highland topped Dobson, 16-6, in six innings in a Division I power-ranking game at Dobson.

Highland (6-4 overall and 2-2 prg) avenged a power-ranking loss from two weeks ago to Dobson (7-9, 1-3), a game Highland lost 7-3. The Lady Hawks scored six runs in the first two innings on Monday and led 8-2 after 4 1/2 innings. Dobson suddenly made a game of it in the bottom of the fifth scoring four times on three hits and two errors to pull within 8-6.

Highland responded with seven hits and took advantage of three Dobson errors (eightfor the game) in its next at-bat to make the Lady Mustangs' rally a mute point.

Kayla Carter, who Dobson handled at the plate in two previous meetings, doubled to open the sixth. Carter added a single later in the inning to cap a 4-for-5 day with two RBI. Mariah Gonzales Sammie Simon and Cheyenne Moffett collected RBIs in the sixth, sandwiched around Letourneau's three-run blast to left. Highland's No 2 through No. 6 hitters were a combined 15-for-23 with 12 RBI. Their most consistent players to date, according to coach Glen LaBoissiere, have been Gonzales and Letourneau.

"Our approach at the plate most of the season hasn't been what we'd like,"  LaBoissiere said. "Today they bought into it more. Took into account counts and situations."

LaBoissiere is looking for more of Mpnday's approach the next five days when Highland takes part in the 28-team Desert Mountain Invitational at Horizon Park in Scottsdale. Highland faces a good cross section of competition there with games against Arcadia, Paradise Valley, Notre Dame and Sahuaro. 

"So far I've felt we've reeally tentative," LaBoissiere said. "I liked what I saw out there. We're looking forward to playing teams we don't get to see very much."

Highland will go with the duo that pitched Monday throughout the tournament -- juniors Andrea Rizzo and Cheyenne Moffett.

"We're pretty much pitching by committee with them," LaBoissiere said. "We'll use them both in most games. They complement each other."

Rizzo allowed seven hits, three earned runs and struck out five in five innings of work. Moffett gave up an infield hit in a scoreless sixth inning.

Dobson was led offensively by three players with two hits apiece -- Jaimie Lavender, Jordan Barajas and Tabitha Hannon. The game's web gem belonged to Dobson centerfielder Maddie Johnson. Johnson made a diving, back-hand stab of a fly ball in the third inning.

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