LAKEPORT — Given the opportunity to empty his bench and use his young players, that”s exactly what Clear Lake High School softball coach Gary Pickle did on Saturday as the Cardinals dispatched a rebuilding Esparto squad 23-4 and 16-6 in a non-league doubleheader at Lakeport.
Both games were called after 4 1/2 innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Clear Lake (8-0) is carrying one of its biggest squads ever — 19 players, including eight freshmen — and all of them received plentiful playing time against Esparto, including the winning pitchers in both games.
Given a rare day off on the mound, veteran pitcher Brittany Rumfelt watched Rylie Gabehart work all five innings in games one. Gabehart allowed just four hits, struck out seven and walked five. In the second game, Liz Sanderson went the distance, giving up five hits, striking out two and walking seven.
“I started all my young players in game two,” Pickle said. “The only starter playing her normal position was (Kaila) Sterbank (the Cardinals” sophomore shortstop).
“It was a good chance to get them playing time and I probably won”t have the opportunity again,” Pickle said. “We”re turning the corner (on our schedule) and I”ve got to get the starters every at-bat I can the rest of the way.”
Game one was pretty much over before it started as the Cardinals (8-0) scored 13 times in the bottom of the first inning.
“Some of my starters didn”t play more than an inning in the first game,” Pickle said.
Clear Lake put up another double-digit run total in the bottom of the first, scoring 10 times for a 23-2 lead.
Rumfelt went 1-for-4 with a double and four RBIs as the Cardinals” designated hitter and Samantha Espinoza went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, the only Clear Lake player with more than one – and 12 different players had hits. Tasha Herrera, the team”s human ball magnet, went 1-for-2 with a double, two RBIs and was hit by another pitch.
Game two carried a bit more suspense as Esparto took a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the third inning. Pickle went to his bench for veteran center fielder Haley Sanderson in the bottom of the third, and her pinch-hit two-run single ignited a nine-run inning that put the Cardinals ahead to stay.
Right after Sanderson singled, Sterbank split the gap in right-center field with a three-run, inside-the-park home run, her first high school homer.
“She”s pretty fast,” Pickle said of Sterbank. “The ball rolled all the way to the fence.”
Sterbank finished up 2-for-3 and Candy Diener went 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI. Haley Sanderson went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
Rumfelt made a late-inning appearance in right field in game two.
The Cardinals take a step up in competition today when they travel to Fort Bragg to play the Timberwolves, most likely the team to beat in the North Central League I North race this season.
First pitch is 4 p.m. Clear Lake returns home Friday to play Kelseyville at 4 p.m.
