LAKEPORT — Frontloading his non-league schedule with a string of games against such large school opponents as Ukiah, Maria Carrillo and Elsie Allen, Clear Lake High School softball coach Gary Pickle, ever an optimist but also a realist, never expected the Cardinals to be where they are in the here and now.
“In my wildest dreams, I never thought we would go 24-0,” Pickle said of the perfect record his team will bring into today”s first-round North Coast Section Class A playoff game against Salesian (12-9) of Richmond. “We had a lot of tough games against good teams, but we played really well and we had things go our way.”
Clear Lake, the No. 2 seed in the eight-team Class A field defending section champion St. Patrick/St. Vincent of Vallejo (22-1) is the No. 1 seed is the first high school team from Lake County to run the table in the regular season.
“The nice thing is that record can never be broken, only tied,” said Pickle, who by his own admission is not a big stats guy.
Still, 24-0 is 24-0, a number that not even Pickle can ignore.
If the Cardinals can survive today”s opening test against Salesian, a team that beat Clear Lake for the 2001 sectional title, they will host either Marin Catholic (Kentfield) or Berean Christian (Walnut Creek) in the semifinals on Thursday. The sectional championship game is Saturday at a place and time to be determined.
Pickle”s goal is pretty simple for his 2007 squad, which needs just one more win to set school and county records for most wins in a single season by a Lake County softball team.
“I would feel disappointed for the girls, especially the seniors, if they didn”t get there,” Pickle said of an appearance in the championship game. “Our seniors have been in the playoffs every year and they”ve lost some heartbreaking games in the semifinals three years in a row to teams that went on to win the championship.”
But there are no guarantees in the Class A playoffs, where regular-season records and high seedings offer zero protection against upsets, of which there have been many down through the years.
“All a high seed does for you is give you a home game and if you”re a high enough seed, it means you play all your games at home,” Pickle said. “It”s easier to be the hunter than the hunted and I think we”re the hunter (as the No. 2 seed).
“On the other hand, we are undefeated and that gives teams incentive to give us our first loss, so maybe we”re the hunted, too,” Pickle added.
One thing”s for sure. Since the playoffs became an eight-team tournament instead of a 16-team tournament, the Class A field has become a mighty inhospitable place. Easy first-round games under the old format have pretty much evaporated and you only have to look back to last season when the No. 2-seeded Cardinals had to rally for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat No. 7 St. Mary”s 2-1 in a first-round game at Lakeport. Two days later, the Cardinals lost to eventual section champion St. Patrick/St. Vincent 3-1 in the semifinals at Lakeport )Clear Lake was the only team to score a run against the Bruins in the playoffs).
“We”re in a bracket where there”s not a soft opponent,” Pickle said of Salesian, Marin Catholic and Berean Christian. “There is no real margin for an off-day.”
Leading the Cardinals to his 13th playoff appearance in 15 seasons, Pickle said one reason the Class A playoffs are so tough nowadays has plenty to do with the number of private and parochial schools that dominate the section”s ranks.
“It”s really changed over the years,” Pickle said. “We”re competing against private schools much more than we used to when I first started. These teams have really improved and become more competitive.”
In this year”s Class A field, as an example, only Clear Lake, the North Central League I South champion, and Fort Bragg, the NCL I North champion, are public schools.
Regardless of what happens in the upcoming week, Pickle said his 2007 club already has earned a special place in his heart.
“It”s a fun group,” Pickle said. “They tease me a lot but they”re respectful, so that”s OK. They call one of the girls Pickle II because she says things that I would say, knows all my sayings,” Pickle said. “We do have a lot of fun at practice that people don”t see, but they”re all business for games and that”s what a coach wants and expects.”
Another area this senior group separates itself from other good ones that Pickle has coached is its relationship with the team”s underclassmen, primarily the freshmen, who are just learning the ropes at the varsity level.
“All of the seniors have adopted a freshman and they”re pretty protective of them,” said Pickle, who added that when one freshman was going through a particularly rough time for non-softball reasons, seniors on the team came to Pickle and told him to take it easy on her.
“They didn”t want me saying anything that would (accidentally) hurt her feelings,” Pickle said. “That shows how much they care about each other.”
Pickle also appreciates that this year”s senior group has been able to keep everything in perspective through the regular season and he hopes that trend continues in the playoffs.
“They never got too up or too down, they keep that even keel,” Pickle said.
As for the added pressure that playoff games bring, Pickle said he doesn”t expect it to be a problem.
“It”s a more relaxed team than I”ve had in the past,” Pickle said. “They feel comfortable.”
Even better, says Pickle, “They”re really looking forward to it (the playoffs). They want to do well and they want to win.”
