CLOVERDALE — Winning pitcher Lilianna Cruz hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning to tie the game at 2-2 and Hailee Bussard added a two-run blast during a decisive three-run top of the fifth as the Clear Lake Cardinals upended the Cloverdale Eagles 7-4 in North Central League I softball action Friday afternoon in Cloverdale.
The win moves Clear Lake (3-2 league, 4-3 overall) past Cloverdale (3-3) in the league standings. The Cardinals close out the first half of their league schedule Tuesday with another big road game at undefeated Fort Bragg (5-0), then open the second half April 30 with a doubleheader at Willits beginning at 3 p.m.
Cloverdale and Clear Lake traded runs early in the game. Leadoff hitter Joy Ingalls (4-for-4) got things rolling for the Cardinals in the first, third and fifth innings, each time with a single. She also led off the seventh with a basehit to complete a perfect day at the plate.
“She doesn’t realize just how fast she is,” Clear Lake head coach Racheal Harmon said of the red-hot Ingalls, an ultra-quick slap hitter who beats the ball into the ground and outruns the throw — when there is a throw — to first base, usually with ease.
“She’s fast and aggressive,” Harmon said.
The game was tied 4-4 going to the fifth inning when Ingalls singled and scored on Sierra Bruch’s double to deep center field.
“She’s been working so hard, I was happy to see her get that hit,” Harmon said of Bruch’s double, which turned out to be the game-winning hit.
Bussard (2-for-3) followed with her second home run of the season, a drive to deep right, to give Cruz a bit of a cushion.
“It was so far gone that it hit the modular building behind the fence,” Harmon said of Bussard’s blast. “Not the modular that’s closest to the fence, but the next one.”
Cloverdale threatened Clear Lake’s lead in the bottom of the sixth when it loaded the bases against Cruz with two outs, but the freshman left-hander wiggled her way out of the jam by getting a comebacker to the mound.
There was no such suspense in the bottom of the seventh although Cruz did allow a one-out single before retiring the next two batters to end the game and give Clear Lake its first win at Cloverdale since a 7-1 victory back in 2016, the last time the Cardinals won the NCL I title.
Cruz also had two of Clear Lake’s 10 hits.
“It feels good, especially on their home turf,” Harmon said of the victory at Cloverdale.
