Teams dodging rain; open SCL campaign this week
The defending league champion Analy softball team overcame an uncharacteristic five fielding errors on Monday in a preseason visit to Maria Carrillo, pounding out 15 hits en route to an 11-9 victory.
The win came on the heels of an 11-day layoff due to a series of storms, serving as the final tune-up before the Tigers open defense of their Sonoma County League title this week.
At press time, Analy (2-1) was to kick off the SCL schedule at Sonoma Valley on March 20 (weather permitting), followed by a Thursday, March 22 visit to Elsie Allen. The Tigers will make a Saturday, March 24 non-league visit to Ukiah (12 p.m.) before resuming SCL action at El Molino on Tuesday, March 27. All league games start at 4 p.m.
Meanwhile the El Molino Lions (1-5) remained idle after having one preseason game washed out last week and were scheduled to open the league campaign on March 20 against visiting Elsie Allen. If the field is playable, El Mo will host Lower Lake on Thursday, March 22 (4 p.m.) and head to Cloverdale this Friday, March 23 for a 3 p.m. clash at Cloverdale in the Eagle’s annual tournament.
Tigers pound Carrillo    Â
There are times on a softball field when offense can overcome defensive miscues, and Monday’s visit to Maria Carrillo was one of those games.
In a slugfest, the Tigers answered a pair of early Puma runs with two in the second and three more in the third for a 5-2 advantage, but the hosts would not go quietly. Analy led 11-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth when Carrillo rallied for five runs in the final two frames as the Tigers hung on for an 11-9 win.
Picher Nicole Mearns (6 IP, 7 hits, 4 ERs, K) earned the victory, while Carson Rasmussen (1 IP, 4 hits, 2 ERs) closed it out for the save.
Leading hitters included Rasmussen (3 for 5, 4 RBIs), Mearns (3 for 4, 2 runs, RBI), Claire Nelson (2 for 5, 2 2Bs, 2 runs), Leah Lawrence (2 for 3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs), Gianna Bianchi (2 for 4, RBI), Makayla Kraemer (1 for 5), Cameron Cordoza (1 for 4, 2 runs) and Samantha Caughie (1 for 4, run).
