3-run double by Sterling lifts Eagles to 7-6 win over St. Vincent
The Eagles added a Hollywood ending to a storybook season in the North Coast Section Division 5 softball championship game on Saturday, staging a dramatic two-out rally against #2 St. Vincent to walk off with a 7-6 victory.
Junior second baseman Heather Sterling delivered the knockout blow with two outs and the bases-loaded in the Eagles’ final at-bat, ripping a two-strike pitch into left field to score all three runs and send the Cloverdale bench into a championship frenzy.
“I looked out in left field and saw the fielder was shading me way over to center, so I was just trying to hit the ball that way,” Sterling explained, before adding, “That was easily the biggest hit of my life.”
The NCS title, the 10th for veteran head coach Margaret Fitzgerald and first since 2010, was a truly magical moment and fitting end to the 2018 campaign.
“This was an amazing season that saw our team work so hard on a daily basis to improve, and in the end they stood alone on top,” Fitzgerald said. “The chemistry this team shared was special and Pat (Fitzgerald) and I enjoyed every moment we spent with them. They showed great character and mental toughness to pull off the storybook comeback finish.”
The #1 seeded Eagles began the NCS Division 5 playoff tournament with a first-round bye, followed with a 10-0 shellacking over #10 St. Bernard’s on May 26.
The win set up a semifinal clash with #4 Hoopa Valley on May 30. The Eagles made short work of the visiting Warriors, pushing across four runs in the first inning, adding another nine in the next two frames to score a dominant, 13-1 win in five.
Sophomore hurler Tehya Bird did everything but sell hot dogs, firing four innings of four-hit ball while fanning seven to earn the “W.” Bird also swung a hot bat, ripping three hits in four trips, including a double and two homers to drive in four runs.
Other top hitters were Sterling (3 for 4, 3B, 4 runs, 2 RBIs), Aly Bernal (2 for 3, 2 runs), Vanessa Fisher (2 for 4, 2B, 2 runs, 3 RBIs), Janaye Hammond (2 for 2, 3 RBIs), Lane Hughes (2 for 4), Alyssa Moffet (1 for 2, run) and Nicky Martinez (1 for 3, run).
The Eagles played host to St. Vincent on a sweltering, 103-degree day at Daly Field on June 2, as Bird climbed the hill opposite Mustang’s starter Sully Henry.
Cloverdale spotted the visitors two runs in the opening frame, but answered with a pair in the bottom of the inning for an early 2-2 tie. The game turned for St. Vincent in the third when an Eagle fielding error and timely hitting led to three runs for a 5-2 Mustangs lead.
Trailing 6-2, the Eagles clawed back for a solo run in the fourth to make it a 6-3 ballgame. Bird, the recipient of three intentional walks in the game, strode to the plate to lead off the sixth, but this time St. Vincent chose to pitch to her. After looking at two pitches in the dirt, Bird swung at a knee-high fastball and launched a towering drive that would just clear the center field wall for a solo homer, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
“I wasn’t really surprised that they pitched to me,” Bird said later, admitting some frustration in drawing 30 free passes this season. “They were up by three runs at the time and knew I couldn’t hurt them too much.”
Still trailing 6-4, the Eagles came to bat in the bottom of the seventh, needing late game heroics to send their fans home happy.
Senior Alma Beltran got the party started with a one-out single, followed by a walk to Alyssa Moffet. With two out, the Mustangs elected to walk Bird to load the bases, putting left-handed hitting Sterling in a date with destiny.
The junior veteran fouled off a pair of pitches and evened the count at 2-2 before delivering a laser-shot to left field, scoring all three runners for a walk-off, 7-6 victory and the NCS title.
“The players understood the winning tradition of the softball program at CHS and had a tremendous season,” Fitzgerald noted. “That’s a memory none of them will ever forget.”
Bird turned in a gritty effort in the blazing afternoon sun, scattering eight hits while yielding three earned runs and fanning eight to earn her 18th season win. Pacing the Eagles’ hitting corps were Vanessa Fisher (2 for 3, RBI), Bird (1 for 1, HR, 3 runs, RBI), Sterling (1 for 4, 2B, 3 RBIs), Martinez (1 for 4, RBI), Beltran (1 for 4), Hammond (1 for 4) and Hughes (1 for 4).
