Lady Eagles beat Kelseyville to maintain first place
The Cloverdale High School softball team took a major step toward a coveted NCL 1 title this week, notching home and away wins over defending league champion Kelseyville.
At press time the ladies were atop the league standings at 9-1 (12-1 overall), followed by Kelseyville (9-2) and Clear Lake (7-4). The Eagles had upcoming games at Middletown (May 8) and home versus St. Helena on May 10. Cloverdale will close out the NCL 1 schedule with road and home games against Lower Lake (May 15) and Fort Bragg (May 17, Senior Day). All games start at 4 p.m.
The Lady Eagles began a critical stretch on May 1 with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Knights behind a one-hit, seven-strikeout gem by ace pitcher Tehya Bird. Nicky Martinez (1 for 2, 2 RBIs) helped bust it open in a three-run fourth inning, while other top hitters included Lane Hughes (3 for 3, run, RBI), Aly Bernal (1 for 3) and Vanessa Fisher (1 for 3, 2B, run).
Cloverdale may have suffered a letdown two days later at Fort Bragg, as the Timberwolves pulled off a surprising 2-1 upset. Bird (6 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 2 Ks) took the loss while leading hitters were Fisher (2 for 4), Martinez (1 for 3), Hughes (1 for 4, RBI), Angelina Cordova (1 for 2) and Bird (1 for 2, run).
The Eagles traveled to Kelseyville in a rematch on May 7, taking command with two runs in the opening frame and icing it in a three-run fifth en route to an 8-4 victory.
Bird (7 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 6 Ks) was solid, while top batters included Fisher (1 for 2, 2B, run, RBI), Alma Beltran (2 for 5), Martinez (2 for 2, 2 runs), Hughes (2 for 4, run), Alyssa Moffet (1 for 2, run, RBI) and Janaye Hammond (1 for 4, run, 2 RBIs). Bird drew five walks and scored a pair of runs.
Baseballers stay hot
The varsity baseball Eagles (7-4, 11-6), winners of six of their last seven games, stayed hot with three more wins, recording impressive victories over Kelseyville (3-2), Healdsburg (16-2) and Fort Bragg (3-2).
At press time the Eagles were in fourth place in league behind only Middletown (8-2), Fort Bragg (8-3) and Kelseyville (8-3).
This week, Cloverdale hosted Middletown on May 8 and entertain St. Helena on Friday, May 11. The Eagles will close out the schedule with a May 15 visit to Lower Lake. First pitch in all games is 4 p.m.
Cloverdale played host to second place Kelseyville on May 1, pushing across two runs in the first for a lead it would not relinquish in an eventual 3-2 win. Starting pitcher Dylan Scaramella (6 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 2 Ks) notched the victory while Keller Sibert (1 IP, 2 hits, ER, K) earned the save. Leading the hitting corps were Josh Lemley (3 for 4, run, RBI), James Wirt (2 for 4, 2B, 2 runs), Kamryn Mitchell (2 for 3, 2B, RBI), Drew Edens (1 for 3) and Sibert (1 for 2).
The Eagles had their hitting shoes on in a May 2 non-league visit to Healdsburg, easily besting the Greyhounds in a 16-2 rout. Edens (5 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 7 Ks) claimed the win. Also logging mound duty were Lemley (1 IP, 1 hit, 2 ERs) and Wirt (1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 2 Ks). Hitting safely were Sibert (2 for 5, 3 RBIs), Collin Patterson (1 for 2, 2B, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), Edens (1 for 2, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), Wirt (1 for 1, 4 runs) and Mitchell (3 RBIs).
Cloverdale finished off a great stretch in Friday’s visit to Fort Bragg, erasing a 2-1 deficit with two in the fifth while Mitchell (6 IP, 4 hits, 2 ERs, 6 Ks) spun a mound gem to claim a 3-2 win. Wirt closed it out in a scoreless seventh to earn the save.
Wirt led the hitting corps (2 for 3, 2 runs), while other top swingers were Lemley (1 for 4, RBI) and BJ Grady (1 for 2).
