WILLITS — When is a North Central League I opener not a league opener? The answer is when the umpires don’t show up, which is what happened Thursday afternoon as the Willits Wolverines squared off with the Clear Lake Cardinals in softball action at Willits.
Everyone was dressed up and ready to go for what should have been the league opener between the teams, but apparently the umpires didn’t get the word, possibly because the game was moved up from Friday — when the other NCL I teams get started — to Thursday. In any case, the two teams made the best of the situation and a volunteer umpire officiated what the two teams agreed would be a non-league game. The plan is to hold a league doubleheader April 19 when Willits visits Lakeport.
League, non-league or whatever, Clear Lake sophomore left-hander Lilianna Cruz couldn’t find the strike zone to save herself when the game opened, but once she did lock in, it was game over for Willits.
Clear Lake (4-1) spotted Cruz to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but it proved short-lived. Cruz walked the first two batters she faced in the bottom of the inning and both came around to score on a series of wild pitches as the Wolverines went up 2-1. And then Cruz could do no wrong. She retired the next three hitters to end the first and didn’t allow another baserunner until the third when Cruz hit a Willits batter who was promptly erased on a double play.
Cruz faced the minimum number of Willits hitters — 15 — after issuing back-to-back walks to open the bottom of the first. She struck eight of those 15 using an expanded repertoire of four pitches.
Clear Lake shortstop Amber Smart saved the no-hitter in the bottom of the fourth with a diving catch in shallow left field.
The Cardinals’ bats started much like Cruz.
“It was a slow start, but after the second inning we really took off,” Clear Lake head coach Scott Schaefers said of an eight-run third inning, a six-run fourth and a seven-run fifth. The game was stopped after the bottom of the fifth because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Clear Lake supported Cruz with flawless defense and a 15-hit attack led by Sierra Bruch (3-for-4), who led off the game by crushing a full-count pitch to left field. She missed homering again in her next at-bat by just a few feet, settling for a double instead. The junior had two doubles on the day and ended up with seven RBIs.
“She definitely had her Wheaties,” Clear Lake assistant coach Marci Psalmonds said.
Raina Clifton added four hits, including a double, and four RBIs and Stella Hill went 2-for-4 with a double and a RBI. Hill’s double hit the top of the fence in left field. Nine different Cardinals had at least one hit.
Clear Lake hosts Kelseyville in a league game Tuesday at 4 p.m.
