Analy, El Mo softballers ready for second half push

Lady Tigers in dogfight for top spot after 6-3 loss to Petaluma
West County high school softball teams will ratchet up the intensity level this week as they start the second half of the spring campaign.
At press time Analy (7-8-1 overall) was tied with Sonoma Valley for second place in the Sonoma County League title chase at 4-1, trailing just Petaluma (6-1) for the top spot. Rounding out the league standings were Piner (3-3), Healdsburg (1-4), El Molino (0-3) and Elsie Allen (0-5).
While the Lady Lions (3-11) were rained out of their recent scheduled outings, the Tigers managed to get in three games, scoring wins over Elsie Allen (11-1) and Piner (6-4) before dropping a tough, 6-3 decision to Petaluma on April 24.
At the time of this writing, the West County rivals were preparing for a busy stretch, beginning on April 25 when the Lions host the Tigers in their second season meeting in Forestville (4 p.m.). Analy will host Redwood in a non-league clash on April 26 (4 p.m.) and visit Healdsburg on April 28 (5 p.m.). The Lions will travel to Petaluma on April 27 and visit Piner on Friday, April 28. Both games start at 4 p.m.
Tigers take two of three
Analy made short work of winless Elsie Allen in an April 20 road trip, staking pitcher Nicole Mearns (5 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 7 Ks) to a big early lead en route to an 11-1 rout in five innings.  Top hitters were Makayla Kraemer (3 for 4, run, RBI), Cameron Cardoza (2 for 3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs), Chloe Hadrich (2 for 3, 2B, 3 RBIs), Marissa Ramirez (2 for 4, run, RBI) and Brianna Lawrence (2 for 4, 2 runs).
The Tigers sent Emily Dreyer (7 IP, 11 hits, 4 ERs, 4 Ks) to the hill in an April 21 visit to Piner, battling back from an early 3-1 deficit with a three-run uprising in the fifth in an eventual, 6-4 win. Swinging hot bats were Payton Cords (2 for 3, 2 runs), Claire Nelson (2 for 4, run), Kahealani Lua (2 for 3, run) and Dreyer (2 for 4, run, 3 RBIs).
On Monday, the Tigers made their annual trek to archrival Petaluma for a make-up game, staking Dreyer to a 3-0 advantage after three.  The Trojans scratched for a run in the fourth and erupted for four in the decisive fifth inning to propel them to a 6-3 victory.
Dreyer (6 IP, 6 hits, 4 ERs) took the loss while leading hitters included Kraemer (2 for 4, run, RBI), Lawrence (2 for 4, 2 RBIs) and Dreyer (2 for 3).