LAKEPORT — The wind was blowing out and so was the softball on Tuesday afternoon as the Clear Cardinals outslugged the visiting Willits Wolverines 18-7 in a non-league game called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
Clear Lake blasted two home runs and Willits had one in a game that featured 27 hits, 14 of them by the Cardinals (6-0).
“They can hit it … they really hit well,” Clear Lake coach Gary Pickle said of the Wolverines.
Clear Lake owned an 8-1 lead after two innings, but the Wolverines came storming back with five runs in the top of the third, two of them scoring on Madeline Harris” home run to straightaway center field.
Their lead down to 8-6, the Cardinals answered with an eight-run bottom of the third. Winning pitcher Emily Wingler then pitched a scoreless top of the fourth to get her team back on track.
“Coming right back with a big inning and then shutting them down in the fourth, that was key,” Pickle said.
Wingler struck out five and didn”t walk a batter while allowing 13 hits.
“Her pitches caught too much of the plate,” Pickle said. “If you make mistakes they”re going to hit it.”
Clear Lake”s home runs were a three-run shot by freshman Kelcie Reynolds during a six-run bottom of the second, a blast to left field, and Heather White”s two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the fourth that pushed the Cardinals” lead to 18-6. It was White”s third home run of the season.
“Two of the home runs were wind-aided,” Pickle said of Harris” and White”s shots. “Kelcie”s was legit.”
Reynolds, White, Morgan Psalmonds, Rebecca Baker, Coree Alexander and Marsha”na Sugimoto had two hits apiece for the Cardinals. Reynolds finished with four RBIs and White had three. Baker scored four times.
Clear Lake returns to action today in Ukiah at 4 p.m.
