CLOVERDALE — Taking advantage of six walks in the bottom of the second inning, the Cloverdale Eagles scored six times and went on to beat the Clear Lake Cardinals 10-7 in a North Central League I South varsity baseball game on Wednesday at City Park in Cloverdale.
It was the South opener for the Cardinals (0-1, 9-4-1), while the Eagles won their second league game in three days — Cloverdale also beat St. Vincent 1-0 on Monday in Cloverdale.
The Eagles are 6-7 overall, including a 5-3 mark at home.
Clear Lake did two things on Wednesday it hasn”t done much of this season — strike out at the plate and issue walks. The Cardinals struck out 10 times, six times looking, and two Clear Lake pitchers combined to issue 10 walks.
“They were pitches we couldn”t hit, couldn”t reach,” Clear Lake coach Paul Larrea said of the called third strikes.
Clear Lake scored in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead before Cloverdale pulled ahead with its six-run second. The Cardinals battled back to tie the game with a run in the third and four in the fourth. It remained 6-6 until the Eagles broke through with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Mitch Delfino, working in relief, picked up the victory for Cloverdale. Ryan Hansford, pitching in relief of starter Corey Dillon, took the loss.
“Hansford pitched very well,” Larrea said.
Clear Lake suited up only 10 players for the game because of the Every 15 Minutes program that took place on Wednesday at Clear Lake High. The Cardinals were without No. 5 hitter Christian Coddington, who also pitches.
Jesse Phillips went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and Dillon went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Clear Lake at the plate. Ryan Lunas added two hits and two RBIs.
The Cardinals travel to Healdsburg on Friday for a non-league game beginning at 7 p.m.
