LAKEPORT — In a game where home runs were such a big part of the story, Vanessa Tullos” two-out, two-run blast to left field capped a four-run Clear Lake sixth inning and lifted the Cardinals to a dramatic 8-7 victory over the Cloverdale Eagles in round one of their North Central League I South softball title fight on a warm Thursday afternoon in Lakeport.
Tullos” high-soaring blast over the left-field fence was only possible because the batter before her, Mari Jordan came up with a clutch two-out hit of her own, a solid single into center field to drive in her fourth run of the game and cut Cloverdale”s lead to 7-6.
Tullos stepped into the batter”s box and didn”t waste any time, hitting the first pitch from losing pitcher Kena Ruiz to deep left. The ball was gone once it left the bat.
“A big fat pitch,” Cloverdale coach Margaret Fitzgerald said of the ball Tullos, the Cardinals” sophomore second baseman, smashed for her first home run of the season.
“She was looking for an inside pitch,” Clear Lake coach Gary Pickle said. “They had been pounding her inside all game.”
Tullos (3-for-4) and Jordan (3-for-4) led a 13-hit Clear Lake attack. Jordan grounded out in the bottom of the first to drive in the Cardinals” first run and she added a two-run triple in the third to cut Cloverdale”s lead to 5-3. When the ball momentarily rolled away from the third baseman, Jordan tried to score and was gunned down at the plate only to then be called safe when the home plate umpire ruled that the third baseman had interfered with her in the baseline.
“Just once I”d like to get a call like that,” Fitzgerald said. “That always seems to happen to us when we come up here. That was a great call for them. I”d like to get those great calls too.”
Cloverdale entered play 4-0 in the South standings to Clear Lake”s 5-0 and for a time it appeared the Eagles weren”t going to be denied against the Cardinals, primarily because of the two home runs that junior third baseman and clean-up hitter Cherise McEnery crushed. Her three-shot to right-center field in the bottom of the third was a mistake — the Cardinals were trying to intentionally walk her with runners at second and third and no outs, but winning pitcher Liz Sanderson”s offering caught far too much of the plate.
McEnery hit another first-pitch home run in the top of the fifth, a solo shot, to give the Eagles a 6-4 lead.
“She”s a stud,” Fitzgerald said of McEnery, who also made a nice play in the field in the bottom of the first to stop a Clear Lake rally dead in its tracks.
Cloverdale picked up an unearned run in the sixth for a 7-4 lead.
After the Cardinals rallied in the bottom of the inning to go up 8-7, the Eagles mounted a major threat in the top of the seventh. Brittany Vandagriff led off with a single and Ronneilia Moore reached on an infield single to deep shortstop. That brought McEnery back to the plate and the Cardinals considered intentionally walking her, according to Pickle.
“But I just couldn”t bring myself to put the tying run at third base with no outs,” Pickle said. “Liz has always fought well in those types of situations. Sometimes you just have to put your trust in the girls.”
McEnery rolled a grounder to third baseman Katie Reynolds, who took the sure out at first as the other runners advanced. What came next was the play of the game.
Allison Marrone, who doubled in two runs in the top of the first after the Cardinals elected to intentionally walk McEnery, chopped the ball toward Reynolds. Reynolds could have thrown on to first for the out and let the tying run score, but instead she gambled, pump faking toward first before wheeling around and firing a strike to shortstop Heather White, who snuck in behind Vandagriff and tagged her out as she dove back into third base.
“Jordan called for that play,” Pickle said. “It was her call. We practice it but she was the one who called for it in that situation.”
“She (Vandagriff) just got off (the base) too far,” Fitzgerald said.
Down to their final out and with Moore at second base representing the tying run, the Eagles ran out of chances as Michaela Lawson popped up to White to end the game.
While the top of the seventh was clearly a missed chance for the Eagles, the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth and also came away empty.
Clear Lake is 17-4 overall, Cloverdale 15-3.
