LAKEPORT — A pitcher’s duel between Clear Lake’s Lilianna Cruz and Middletown’s Shaylyn Sims for 4 ½ innings was a distant memory by the time the Cardinals walked off the field 11-1 winners over the Mustangs in North Central League I softball action on a mostly cloudy Wednesday afternoon in Lakeport.
Taking advantage of a key Middletown error during a four-run Clear Lake fifth inning and four more Mustangs miscues during a five-run Clear Lake sixth, the Cardinals turned what had been a 2-1 game into an easy victory as they avenged an 8-6 loss to the Mustangs back on April 5 in Middletown.
The abundance of errors was definitely the difference this time around, according to Clear Lake head coach Scott Schaefers, who was mostly pleased with his team’s third straight win.
“It reeks havoc when you put people on base,” Schaefers said of all the free runners the Cardinals (7-5 league, 12-7 overall) received courtesy of Middletown’s defense.
Clear Lake finished with only six hits to Middletown’s four, but the Cardinals made just one error. Both starting pitchers were dealing early on. Winner Lilianna Cruz, who did not pitch in the April 5 game at Middletown because of a hip injury, ended up striking out nine, walking one and hitting two (Middletown’s Pailey Shook both times). Middletown’s Shaylyn Sims surrendered two first-inning runs but had a one-hitter going through four innings.
“We always seem to struggle with the slower pitchers,” Schaefers said of Sims, who was the winning pitcher when the teams met last month in Middletown.
The Mustangs halved the Cardinals’ lead with a run in the fourth. Shook was hit by a pitch leading things off, stole second and then stole third with one out, the throw sailing into left field for an error as Shook raced home to make it 2-1.
Clear Lake finally pulled away in the fifth with some help from the Mustangs (3-8, 4-8). Stella Hill led off with a single into left field and moved to second on a wild pitch. Karsyn Greer laid down what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt that she beat out for a base hit. Sierra Bruch, the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter, was hit a pitch to load the bases for Rubi Ford, who hit a grounder to first baseman Melanie Gerst. Gerst retreated to the bag to record the out but lost the handle on the ball as she stepped on the bag. Hill scored on the grounder while Greer came home on Gerst’s error as Bruch raced around to third.
Ford stole second base on the first pitch to Amber Smart, who took it for a ball. Smart then grounded out to Middletown shortstop Jaidyn Brown as Bruch raced home to make it 5-1. Ford held her ground at second base on the play.
With Cruz at the plate, Ford stole third. Cruz worked the count full before hitting a hard grounder up the middle that Brown made a nice play on to keep the ball from rolling into the outfield. Ford scored for a 6-1 Clear Lake lead.
“We did a good job playing small ball today,” Clear Lake assistant coach Phil Psalmonds said.
Cruz allowed a leadoff single to Breanna Pyzer in the top of the sixth before retiring the next three Middletown batters.
The bottom of the sixth quickly mushroomed out of control for Middletown and its new pitcher, Brooklyn Wood. Camrin Pivniska reached on an error before Hill worked a full-count walk. Greer then dropped down another beauty of a bunt to advance the runners and was safe on an error that allowed Pivniska to score while Hill and Greer moved up to second and third. Bruch’s infield single drove in Hill to make it 8-1, and Bruch promptly stole second base. Ford’s chopper to third was mishandled for another error as Greer scored while Bruch advanced to third and Ford to second.
After Smart popped out to second base for the first out of the inning, Cruz smacked a hard grounder through the third baseman’s legs for an error and into left field, allowing both Bruch and Ford to race home for an 11-1 lead, at which point the game was stopped because of the 10-run mercy rule.
And just like that it was over.
Clear Lake’s first two runs of the game came in the bottom of the first that Bruch led off with a well-struck double to the base of the wall in left-center field. She later scored on Smart’s RBI single into left field, Smart taking second when the left fielder misplayed the ball for an error. She stole third and scored on a two-out wild pitch.
Sims shut out the Cardinals the next three innings, working out of a second-and-third jam with one out in the bottom of the second, and getting some help from her defense in the bottom of the third in the form of a 6-3-5 double play. Ford reached on an error to open the inning and stole second base with Smart in the batter’s box. Smart hit hard a hard grounder to shortstop Brown, who made a strong throw to first for the out as Ford took off for third base. Gerst’s throw to third beat Ford to the bag as Hart slapped down the tag for the out.
Brown, a senior, was a rock at shortstop for the Mustangs. Of the five grounders hit in her direction, she threw out four runners at first base and did a great job just to knock down Cruz’s run-scoring infield single up the middle in the fifth. She also had one of Middletown’s four hits.
Clear Lake flashed a bit of leather too. Cruz made a nice catch on a popup in the top of the first to retire Pyzer, and her freshman catcher, Karsyn Greer threw out runners trying to steal second base in the second and fourth innings.
“That was probably her best game of the year,” Psalmonds said of Greer’s play behind the plate and her productive bunts at the plate. “She really did a nice job,” Schaefers added.
Cruz struck out the side in the fourth and had at least one strikeout in every inning. She threw first-pitch strikes to 10 of the first 11 batters she faced and worked ahead in the count most of the game.
“Her rise ball was a lot better today,” Clear Lake assistant coach Marci Psalmonds said.
“The attitude seemed very upbeat today,” Schaefers said of the Cardinals’ win. “I loved it.”
Game notes: Both starting pitchers hit two batters, but no one took a harder hit than did Clear Lake’s Bruch, who was running at third base in the sixth inning when she took a line drive off her leg. The ball struck with such force that the impression of the softball’s stitches were imprinted on her leg. Bruch was in foul territory when the line drive struck her, so it was just a foul ball. Had she been in fair territory, she would have been out … Bruch caught the only four flyballs hit to her on Wednesday. She also had two of the Cardinals’ six hits … Clear Lake will find out Thursday whether or not freshman pitcher Atiana Patino can continue playing. She hurt her finger during a powder pull football game last month, an injury originally throught to be only a sprain but later diagnosed as a fracture. Freshman first baseman Lindee Bingham was hurt in the same powder puff game and was lost for the season with a broken wrist.
