20-4 season ends with 1-0 OT loss
The line between winning a softball championship and heartbreak can be razor thin, with many title games seemingly decided by the cruel hand of fate.
That was never more apparent than on Saturday, June 4 when the top seeded Lady Eagles played host to number two St. Joseph of Notre Dame in the North Coast Section Division-5 championship clash at Daly Field.
Cloverdale senior ace Teanne Edens (4 hits, 0 ERs, 8 Ks) and Pilots pitcher Anekaila Crevani (4 hits, 0 runs, 17 Ks) locked horns in a pitcher’s duel for the ages, both keeping the other team off the board through nine scoreless innings.
The author of five no hitters this season, Edens didn’t allow a single batter to reach base until the seventh, and took a no-hitter into the eighth before the visitors finally eked out a hit and load the bases with nobody out. Edens worked out of the jam to keep the game scoreless.
The Pilots lost another opportunity to score in the ninth when, with runners at second and third, a ground ball ticketed for left field hit the base-runner to end the inning.
The Eagles were not without their own chances, stranding a runner at third base three times in the game, adding to their own frustration.
St. Joseph of Notre Dame finally broke through in the 10th with international tie breakers rules in effect, lacing a run-scoring single for a 1-0 lead.
The game ended in electrifying fashion in the bottom of the 10th, when Edens, attempting to score from third on an overthrow, was tagged out in a close play at the plate to give the Pilots a 1-0 victory.
Bailey Creager (3 for 4) and Hannah Sterling (1 for 2) accounted for all of Cloverdale’s hits in the game.
“Our final loss was a heartbreaker and a great softball game,” CHS head coach Margaret Fitzgerald said. “It was a team effort and every pitch and play was so important and intense.”
Advance to title clash
The road to the NCS title game began on with an opening round bye last month. The Eagles advanced with a 3-1 win over eighth-seeded Hoopa Valley on May 31 before hosting number four ranked St. Bernard’s on June 1.
The visiting St. Bernard’s Crusaders were no pushover, plating a solo run in the opening frame before Edens settled in to throttle the attack. Cloverdale took the lead in the third inning when senior catcher Jordyn Turner smashed her fifth homer of the season – a two-run bomb over the left field wall – for a 2-1 lead. But the visitors would not go quietly, scratching for a solo run in the fourth to knot the contest at 2-2. The score remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when Eagles’ senior Bailey Stewart ripped a clutch single to plate Aly Bernal and lift Cloverdale to a 3-2 win.
Edens (7 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 8 Ks) was dominant, while top hitters included Turner (2 for 3, 2B, HR, run, 2 RBIs), Hannah Sterling (2 for 3, run), Stewart (1 for 3, RBI), Xochilth Saldana (1 for 3) and Hailey Donahoo (1 for 3).
All-League honors
The Lady Eagles (20-4) were well represented at the recent All-League meeting, landing five athletes on the squad.
Edens, who went 18-4 with an 0.63 earned run average, was named as the NCL-1 Co-MVP, sharing the honors with Clear Lake pitcher Rachel Wingler. The Eagles’ ace also led the team in hitting (.506, 41 hits, 31 runs, 6 HRs, 33 RBIs).
Also earning First Team distinction were Jordyn Turner (.411, 30 hits, 30 runs, 5 HRs, 24 RBIs) and Creager (.378, 28 hits, 22 runs, 3 Hrs, 27 RBIs). Senior Amber Adams (.309, 21 hits, 14 runs, 21 RBIs) was named to the Second Team, while Stewart (.296, 24 hits, 27 runs, 11 RBIs) was voted to the Honorable Mention squad.
The Eagles graduated six players and are expected to return a core of six next year.
“I’m so proud of all our players and I will miss our seniors, they accomplished a lot on the softball field during their careers at CHS,” Fitzgerald reflected.
“I’m proud of the way our team battled and finished second in the NCS playoffs. We became a true team and were truly playing for each other in the end.”
