LAKEPORT >> Coming off one of their most disheartening games of the season, the Clear Lake Cardinals responded like the champions they’ve been so many times in the past, beating the St. Vincent Mustangs 3-2 in an eight-inning softball thriller on Thursday afternoon at Lakeport.
A non-league game that was rescheduled from March 30 because of rain finally took place some six weeks later under threatening skies that actually yielded some sprinkles, but Clear Lake (10-11) didn’t seem to mind one bit. Although it was only a non-league game, there were several factors in play for the Cardinals, not the least of which was a chance to keep alive one of the more remarkable streaks in Lake County high school sports.
Clear Lake entered play 9-11 against the North Central League II leaders and a loss would have dropped the team three games below the .500 mark with only two games remaining in the regular season. That’s important because the Cardinals haven’t experienced a losing season since 1993. If they can win today at home against Fort Bragg and again on Tuesday in St. Helena to close out league play, they’ll take a 12-11 record into the opening round of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs.
Winning for winning’s sake against a battle-tested team like St. Vincent, which is undefeated in the NCL II standings, also was on the Cardinals’ minds. They were coming off a dreadful 12-0 five-inning home league loss to Lower Lake on Tuesday, a game in which they had only one hit and committed several costly errors.
“What a difference two days can make,” Clear Lake coach Doug Wingler said of a game that ended when Regina Faalelea laced a double down the left-field line to drive home Sara Ogden with the winning run.
“It was squared up, it was a shot,” Wingler said of the game-winning hit by his catcher.
Ogden, who scored the game-winning run, got Clear Lake on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning, her RBI triple to left-center field tying the game at 1-1. Ogden then scored on a dropped popup in shallow center field to give the Cardinals a brief 2-1 lead.
St. Vincent scratched out a run in the top of the seventh to force extra innings, but after winning pitcher Kortnie Reynolds held the Mustangs scoreless in the top of the eighth, the Cardinals made sure the game wouldn’t go to a ninth inning. With one out, Ogden was hit by a pitch. She stole second before scoring on Faalelela’s no-doubt-about-it double. There was no play at the plate.
“We hit rock bottom on Tuesday (against Lower Lake),” Wingler said. “Then we come back and beat one of the top seeds in Division V. The girls got a little taste of what they’re capable of accomplishing.”
For five innings on Thursday it didn’t like either team was going to score as both pitchers – Clear Lake’s Reynolds and St. Vincent’s Sully Henry – were dealing.
“Kortnie by far pitched her best game of the year,” Wingler said.
Reynolds scattered six hits, struck out eight, including four straight during one stretch, and walked only one. She benefited from a handful of solid plays by her defense, including a diving stop by shortstop Madi Ferguson in the top of the third inning to keep the Mustangs off the board.
“We worked out of some jams we haven’t been able to work out of,” Wingler said.
Both pitchers went the distance, Henry striking out eight and walking two in 7 1/3 innings.
St. Vincent gave Henry a 1-0 lead to work with in the top of the sixth before Clear Lake rallied in front in the bottom of the inning, a two-run rally that started with a perfectly placed bunt single by Sydney Lawler.
Shyanne Chapin had the only other hit for the Cardinals.
Team notes: Clear Lake freshman third baseman Ashlynn Gudmundson made the first start of her career for the Cardinals. “She played really, really well,” Wingler said … By winning their final two league games against Fort Bragg and St. Helena, the Cardinals would keep intact another long Clear Lake streak of no losing league seasons since 1993. They take a 5-7 league mark into today’s home game with Fort Bragg.
