LAKEPORT — The Clear Lake Cardinals posted two five-inning victories Saturday against Esparto in a non-league softball doubleheader at Lakeport.
Emily Wingler was the winning pitcher in both games, going the distance in the opener, a 12-2 win, and working the first three innings in game two, a 20-3 victory. Freshman Kelcie Reynolds relieved Wingler in game two, making her high school debut as a pitcher.
“The pitching was good, but we”re making a few too many errors right now,” Clear Lake coach Gary Pickle said of the four errors committed by the Cardinals (3-0) in game one and the three errors committed in game two. “We need to tighten that up.”
Just three games into the 2011 season, Pickle said the Cardinals are right where they should be.
“We”re on pace, kind of building,” he said.
Clear Lake had only five hits in game one despite scoring 12 times. The Cardinals did a better job against a faster Esparto pitcher in game two, collecting 11 hits.
“We didn”t hit the ball as well as I would have liked,” Pickle said of the first game. “Their pitcher didn”t throw the ball very hard and was a little wild. We couldn”t get comfortable in the batter”s box.”
In game one, Clear Lake broke open a 3-2 game with a five-run fourth inning and a four-run fifth.
Game two was a different story as the Cardinals dominated from their first at-bat. They led 5-0 after one inning, 9-0 after two innings and 18-1 after a nine-run bottom of the third that featured a three-run home run by Heather White, who smacked a shot into the corner down the left-field line. She finished with four RBIs. Rebecca Baker went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and scored three times, Coree Alexander went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and Wingler helped her own cause by going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
No Cardinal had more than one hit in game one. Baker (1-for-2) and Morgan Psalmonds (1-for-1) each scored three times and Psalmonds also drove in a run.
Clear Lake hits the road today to play Montgomery in Santa Rosa, weather permitting.
