LAKEPORT — The wind was blowing out as the season ran out for the Clear Lake and Fort Bragg softball teams Friday afternoon in Lakeport, but not before the Cardinals put an exclamation point on a successful year with a 10-1 victory over the Timberwolves.
The North Central League I and season finale for both teams featured three home runs, two of them by the Cardinals. Catcher/first baseman Hailee Bussard hit a three-run home run for the second game in a row while second baseman Sierra Bruch (3-for-4) added a two-run shot on a day when getting the ball up into the air proved advantageous because of the breezy conditions.. Bussard’s blast to left-center field in the bottom of the third pushed Clear Lake’s lead to 4-0 while Bruch’s drive to left field in the sixth accounted for the Cardinals’ final two runs.
Fort Bragg’s lone run was a solo homer to left field by Lucy Hendricks in the top of the sixth, a shot that was a no-doubter from the moment it left the bat.
“I’m so impressed with them,” Clear Lake head coach Racheal Harmon said of the Cardinals, who banged out 12 hits and played nothing short of Gold Glove-caliber defense behind the strong starting pitching provided by freshman left-hander Lilianna Cruz.
Clear Lake (11-3 league, 12-4 overall) won nine of its final 10 games in league play, including its last five, to secure sole possession of second place. Fort Bragg finishes up at 9-5.
“It’s just another reminder of what a bummer it is that there are no playoffs,” Harmon said of a 2021 postseason that was long ago canceled by the North Coast Section because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The silver lining is a Clear Lake roster loaded with returning players. The team’s only two seniors, starting center fielder Joy Ingalls and reserve Kaylee Horne, will be missed, according to Harmon, but the Cardinals return a nearly intact lineup in 2022, a scary thought for the opposition.
“Joy is irreplaceable, but I’ve got girls on my bench now who can start and just didn’t get a chance to this season,” Harmon said.
While Harmon predicted good things from her mostly young club this season, she said she didn’t expect the Cardinals to go 11-3 in league. On the other hand, Harmon said her team’s work ethic is second to none, so it’s not a huge surprise.
“They play like they practice, going all out and diving for balls,” Harmon said.
Clear Lake’s defense put on a clinic against Fort Bragg as each of the team’s four infielders flashed the leather before it was over. The highlight-reel winner was a foul pop caught by diving third baseman Raina Clifton in the top of the third inning when she went all out to glove the ball near the backstop. An inning earlier first baseman Grace Gomez made a nice catch while reaching back above her head and backpedaling down the first-base line.
The top of the fourth featured three outstanding defensive plays in a row. Losing pitcher Cassiti Baroni (2-for-3) led off with a drive into the right-center field gap that right fielder Stella Hill cut off and returned to the infield before Baroni could even think about advancing to second . Second baseman Bruch then ranged into shallow right-center field and stretched out to glove a popup off the bat of Samantha Sipila that looked as though it would fall in for a hit. The next Fort Bragg batter, Analyn Cruz, grounded a ball back up the middle that shortstop Amber Smart gloved. She stepped on second base for the force and then threw on to first base to complete the inning-ending double play.
That’s how good the Cardinals were on this day.
Clear Lake’s Cruz was on her game as well. She shut out the Timberwolves on a pair of Baroni singles through five innings while striking out six and walking one. Fort Bragg advanced just one runner to second base against her, that in the first inning when with two outs Baroni singled to right field and moved to second as Sipila reached on catcher’s interference.
“What a great season my freshman pitcher had,” Harmon said. “She could have gone the seven innings, but I wanted to get some work in for my other freshman.”
Right-hander Nya Marcks relieved to start the sixth inning and was immediately greeted by Hendricks’ solo home run to left field, a blast that didn’t need any help from the wind. Marcks retired the next three batters in a row before working a scoreless seventh.
Cruz and Marcks give the Cardinals a formidable one-two punch in the seasons ahead, according to Harmon.
Clear Lake took a 1-0 lead on a Hill fielder’s choice groundout in the bottom of the second. Bussard’s fifth home run of the season made it 4-0 in the third inning, Ingalls and Bruch reached on singles before scoring on the home run.
The Cardinals added four more runs in the fourth inning, the first scoring on an Ingalls fielder’s choice grounder, the next on a wild pitch, and the final two on a Cruz sinking liner that Fort Bragg’s left fielder dove for and missed. The ball rolled all the way to the fence as Cruz (2-for-3) raced around to third base for a triple.
Following Hendricks’ home run in the top of the sixth, Clear Lake scored its final two runs in the bottom half. Ingalls (2-for-4) led off with a single and scored on Bruch’s home run.
“I’m so happy for her,” Harmon said. “Bruch puts in more time working outside of practice than any girl I have.”
It was Bruch’s second home run of the season.
