LAKEPORT The Clear Lake softball team and Cloverdale head coach Margaret Fitzgerald had something in common following the Cardinals” 14-1 rout of the Eagles on Thursday afternoon in Lakeport.
They were both pretty hot, if for completely different reasons.
Clear Lake improved to 22-0 on the season and clinched a tie for the North Central League I South softball title in the process. It”s the best start ever by a Clear Lake or Lake County softball team and the Cardinals (6-0 league) are just two games and two wins away from a perfect regular season.
Fitzgerald, the longtime Cloverdale skipper who has coached many league and section champions at one of Sonoma County”s smallest schools, was unhappy, to say the least, with a handful of events that transpired during and after the game.
“If you”re a 22-0 team, have a little bit of class,” Fitzgerald said. “They”re a good team, they don”t need to do some of the bush things they”re doing. I”ve had 22-0 and 23-0 teams before and we showed some class.”
Fitzgerald was not amused by a cheer from the Clear Lake dugout that mentioned her first name in the bottom of the first inning when Cloverdale elected to issue an intentional walk to Cardinals clean-up hitter Brittany Rumfelt that loaded the bases with one out. Clear Lake assistant coach Terry Sanderson reprimanded the players almost immediately but Fitzgerald was still pretty upset. Clear Lake head coach Gary Pickle did apologize to her.
After the game, Fitzgerald said the Cardinals did something else that was even worse, though she didn”t want to go on the record with what that was or who did it (but she did tell a reporter off the record what had transpired).
“I”m not going to mention any names,” Fitzgerald said. “I just want them to show some class.”
“I think Margaret just got caught up in the game,” Pickle said. “Things were going bad for them and it just builds up on you. She was just frustrated.”
Clear Lake dominated Cloverdale for the second time this season the Cardinals beat the Eagles 8-0 on April 24 in Cloverdale and they forced an early conclusion to this one as the 10-run came into play after the Eagles (2-4 South) failed to score in the top of the fifth inning.
After Rumfelt retired the Eagles in order in the top of the first, Clear Lake scored the only runs she would need in the bottom of the inning, tallying three times. Haley Sanderson”s one-out single with the bases loaded scored Emilee Meyer although Julie Jackson was cut down at the plate on the same play.
With runners at first and third and two outs, Candy Diener hit a comebacker to pitcher Kenna Ruiz, who could have thrown to first base for an easy third out. Instead, she tried to throw out courtesy runner Apryl Comstock at the plate and Comstock beat the throw. Sanderson scored a short time later on a passed ball.
The Cardinals made it 8-0 with a five-run second inning, knocking Ruiz out of the game in the process (although she re-entered the game and returned to the mound in the fourth). Jackson doubled home the first run of the inning, Sanderson”s fielder”s choice grounder scored another run and a fielding error brought in the third run of the inning. Diener capped the scoring with a two-run double to deep left-center field.
Cloverdale”s lone run came in the top of the third on Crystal Orozco”s two-out triple to left field to make it 8-1.
Clear Lake picked up five more runs in the bottom of the third, all of them scoring after two were out. Rumfelt”s infield single with the bases loaded made it 9-1 and Sanderson and Diener drew back-to-back walks to force in runs. Kacie Hinchcliff followed with a flyball down the left-field line and outfielder Allison Marrone dropped it in foul territory, but the ball was ruled fair and two runs scored.
The Cardinals added another run in the fourth on Jackson”s RBI single.
Diener finished the game with four RBIs, Sanderson added three and Jackson (2-for-4) had two. Rumfelt, who was intentionally walked in each of her first two at-bats, ended up 2-for-2 and Sterbank was 2-for-4.
Rumfelt, now 19-0 on the season, allowed four hits, struck out nine and didn”t walk a batter.
“We put a lot of pressure on their young pitcher and she got into some trouble,” Pickle said of Ruiz, who during two separate stints on the mound combined for 2 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, six runs and seven walks.
“She”s a freshman and she”s pitched well for us this season,” Fitzgerald said. “I”m going to take my lumps and bruises this season with a young team but we”ll be back.”
Cloverdale was coming off a tough 3-2 loss to St. Vincent on Tuesday in Petaluma, a game the Eagles led 2-0 going to the bottom of the seventh.
“They came off a heartbreaker and were down a little bit, and we were coming off a bye and were rested,” Pickle said.
With St. Vincent (3-2) and St. Helena (3-2) hanging around the league race, Pickle said he was pleased to get this win behind him because the Cardinals now control their own destiny and need only win one of their two remaining games (against St. Vincent or Upper Lake) to wrap up the undisputed league title and an automatic playoff berth.
“I told them not to come into this game overlooking these guys,” Pickle said of the Eagles. “This win allows us not to be under so much pressure our last two games.”
Pickle also made it clear he wasn”t taking the Cardinals” last two games for granted.
“We want to win them both,” he said. “It”s a game of momentum and we don”t want to go into the playoffs dropping a big game like that,” Pickle said with an eye toward Tuesday”s home game against St. Vincent.
