LAKEPORT >> Injuries are nothing new for the Clear Lake Cardinals this season and the loss of two starters didn’t stop the Cardinals from beating Head-Royce of Oakland 5-1 in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division V softball playoffs on Saturday afternoon in Lakeport.
While a number of players stepped up to cover the loss of left-fielder Sara Ogden, who missed the entire game with a knee injury and concussion, and shortstop Madi Ferguson, who had her knee buckle while running the bases during the game, no one did more to push the Cardinals (14-11) into a semifinal-round showdown Wednesday with St. Vincent than pitcher Shaelyn McIntire, who tossed a six-hitter, struck out five and walked only one.
After dodging some early trouble as the Jayhawks (6-8) put runners into scoring position each of the first three innings only to come away empty, McIntire took charge. While she did allow an unearned run in the top of the fourth, Clear Lake’s lead was never threatened down the stretch.
“She did a great job,” Clear Lake coach Doug Wingler said of the sophomore McIntire. “She’s pretty much eliminated giving up free passes (walks) and we knew if we could play defense behind her we would be pretty tough.”
And while the Cardinals still committed three errors, it was an improvement from the team’s sloppy fielding during the final stretch of league play a couple of weeks ago.
Clear Lake went ahead to stay with two runs in the bottom of the second. Lila Ogden tripled home the first run of the inning and Emma Boatwright’s RBI grounder made it 2-0. Head-Royce closed to 2-1 in the fourth before the Cardinals got that run back in the bottom of the fifth on a Regina Faalelela RBI double with one out. A two-run sixth gave Wingler some much-appreciated breathing room and the key at-bat on the inning was Ogden, who looked at 13 pitches before finally drawing a walk to lead things off. Pinch-hitter Shelby Ingham doubled her home to make it 4-1 and Joy Ingalls (3-for-4) singled home Ingham for the final run of the game.
Sara Ogden, one of the team’s best hitters, sustained her injuries during a physical education class earlier in the week. She is probable for the Cardinals’ semifinal-round game Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Petaluma against North Central League II champion St. Vincent (11-7), pending a doctor’s release. Ferguson is doubtful for St. Vincent, according to Wingler.
“About the only nice thing when you have injuries like we’ve had all season is that other players get a chance to step in and we’ve had younger players get a lot of experience,” Wingler said. “I don’t know how healthy we’ll be on Wednesday, but we’ll show up.”
It’s Clear Lake’s second trip to Petaluma in less than two weeks. The Cardinals closed out their regular season with a 5-1 non-league loss to St. Vincent on May 17, and they were less than 100 percent for that game as well.
“We need to make some adjustments at the plate,” Wingler said of the rematch with the Mustangs, who are the No. 2 seed in Division V to Clear Lake’s No. 3. “We need to do what we did (Saturday), get timely hits and play good defense behind Mac (McIntire).”
No. 1 seed Cloverdale hosts No. 4 Hoopa Valley in the other semifinal on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Semifinal winners advance to the Division V championship game either Friday or Saturday.
