Cloverdale eyes NCL-1 three-peat
The Cloverdale Lady Eagles have been the standard that all other NCL-1 teams have been measured against for each of the past two championship seasons, and that trend figures to continue this spring.
The two-time defending champions will be the favorites again in 2015 under veteran coach Margaret Fitzgerald, who returns to lead a squad that boasts some of the best players in the Redwood Empire.
“We’ve won back-to-back NCL-1 titles and we’ll be working hard for a three peat,” Fitzgerald said. “With strong pitching returning, experienced bats in the line-up and a talented group of newcomers, it should be an exciting year.”
The list of returning players starts with 2014 Player of the Year, pitcher Teanne Edens. The hard-throwing junior has been nearly un-hittable in her first pair of varsity seasons and could be even better this year.
Edens is coming off a tremendous sophomore campaign that included an overall record of 17-6, 185 strikeouts in 155 innings pitched and an earned run average of 1.72.
Another key returning talent is junior catcher Jordyn Turner, a First-Team All-League selection of a year ago, who led the team with a .400 batting average and 21 runs batted in.
Other retunees are senior All-League utility-player Monica Lemley, junior third baseman Bailey Creager, sophomore outfielder Josie Maruffo and junior shortstop Celeste Gastineau.
First-year varsity players include senior Sierra Morse, and juniors Amber Adams, Bailey Stewart and Shalynn Mancini.
Scheduling notes
The Eagles will begin a key stretch of preseason games this week, starting with a March 12 visit to Windsor, followed by road dates at Kelseyville (March 13) and Calistoga (March 18). All games start at 4 p.m.
Cloverdale will host its annual varsity tournament on March 27-29, an event that should serve as a good litmus test against some of the top Division-4 teams in the Bay Area. Participating schools include Moreau Catholic, Berean Christian, Marin Catholic, Salesian and St. Mary’s.
