The harsh reality of the North Coast Section playoffs sets in when one team celebrates while the other goes home.
That was the deal in the opening week of the NCS Division-5 playoffs for Cloverdale High School softball and baseball teams, as the Lady Eagles advanced to the tournament quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over Hoopa Valley, while the varsity baseballers were eliminated in a 5-3 loss to Stuart Hall.
At press time the top-seeded CHS softball team (19-3) was in final preparations for a Wednesday, June 1 date with visiting number four ranked St. Bernard’s in the NCS semifinals, with a trip to the tourney title game the reward for the victor.
Should the Lady Eagles get by St. Bernard’s, they’ll square off with the winner of the survivor of the St. Joseph Notre Dame-Head Royce game on either June 3 or 4 (date and location TBD).
Check the NCS website at www.cifncs.org for updated tournament bracket information as it becomes available.
Ladies survive NCS test
After enjoying a first-round bye, the Eagles’ May 28 quarterfinal clash with visiting Hoopa Valley was a reminder of the perils of playoff softball.
The eighth-seeded Warriors kept it close to make it interesting in a tense seven-inning battle, with the Cloverdale offense doing just enough to pull out a win.
The Eagles staked senior pitcher Teanne Edens to a 1-0 lead on an RBI single from Hailey Donahoo in the first, but the Warriors answered with a run in the fourth to knot the contest at 1-1.
Cloverdale would score the eventual winning runs in the fifth on successive RBI knocks from Jordyn Turner (double) and Edens. The Cloverdale ace would do the rest with her arm, escaping the last two frames unscathed en route to a 3-1 win.
Edens (7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ERs, 2 BBs, 12 Ks) was masterful, while top hitters included Turner (1 for 2, 2B, run, RBI), Edens (1 for 3, RBI), Donahoo (1 for 2, run, RBI) and Bailey Creager (1 for 3).
Eagles baseballers fall
The number 13 seeded Eagles had the tough task of a May 25 NCS opener trip at number four Stuart Hall in San Francisco, sending senior veteran Chris Harms to the hill opposite Knights’ hurler Robbie Vanderlaan.
Things started well for the Eagles, pushing across three runs in the opening frame on RBI singles by Harms and Pat Ojeda, but the Knights answered with three of their own in the second to knot the game at 3-3.
It was all the damage the Eagles could muster the rest of the way, as Stuart Hall plated two runs in the sixth to pull out a 5-3 win.
Harms (6 IP, 6 hits, 5 ERs, 3 BBs, 2 Ks) pitched well in defeat, while hitting leaders were Drew Edens (2 for 4, run), Kamrin Mitchell (2 for 3), Ojeda (1 for 3, run, 2 RBIs), Harms (1 for 3, RBI), Jared Hibbeln (1 for 4) and Michael McDermott (1 for 4, run).
The Eagles finished the season with a record of 12-10.
