Cloverdale will host quarterfinal on May 27
Playoff fever is sweeping the Cloverdale High School campus this week as the Lady Eagles prepare for what is hoped will be a protracted North Coast Section title run.
The Lady Eagles (18-4) were awarded the #3 seed in the 12-team NCS Division 5 tournament this week, drawing a first-round bye. Cloverdale will play host to the winner of #6 Clear Lake versus #11 University on Saturday, May 27 in a 4 p.m. start. Should the Eagles win they’ll advance to the NCS semifinals on May 30 or 31.
The complete list of NCS Division 5 teams in seeding order is Berean Christian, St. Vincent, Cloverdale, Head Royce, Ferndale, Clear Lake, St. Bernard’s, Technology, Making Waves Academy, Laytonville, University and Calistoga.
Title hopes dashed
Cloverdale entered the final week of the NCL 1 campaign tied with Kelseyville for first place with an 11-1 record, facing a titanic May 16 clash with the Knights that would likely to decide the league championship.
Things started well enough for the Eagles, pushing across a pair of first inning runs to stake pitcher Tehya Bird to a 2-0 lead. But Kelseyville answered with one run in the second and a pair in the third to take a lead it would not relinquish. Trailing 5-2, the Eagles rallied for two runs in the fifth, but Kelseyville plated four runs in the decisive sixth en route to a 9-6 win. Cloverdale committed a season-high seven fielding errors in the game.
Bird (7 IP, 14 hits, 4 ERs, 6 Ks) took the loss, while top hitters were Hannah Bireschi (2 for 4, 4 RBIs), Josie Marrufo (2 for 4), Lane Hughes (2 for 3, run, RBI), Nicky Martinez (1 for 4, RBI) and Heather Sterling (1 for 2, 3 runs).
Cloverdale closed out the league schedule on May 17 against visiting Lower Lake, clinging to a 1-0 edge before the Trojans surged ahead with two runs in the fourth. The contest was knotted a 2-2 when the Eagles erupted in a four-run sixth inning to lift them to an eventual 6-2 win.
Bird (7 IP, 7 hits, 2 ERs, 9 Ks) notched her 18th season victory, while leading batters included Marrufo (2 for 4, run, RBI), Hughes (1 for 2, run), Sterling (1 for 1, 3 BBs, run) and Emma Adams (1 for 4, run). Alma Beltran and Martinez each drove in a run for the Eagles.
Baseballers end season
The varsity baseball Eagles (4-10, 5-13) finished the spring season on a high note, slipping past visiting Lower Lake on Friday in a wild 7-4 victory.
Cloverdale began the final stretch of the campaign in a home clash with first-place Kelseyville on May 16, staying within striking distance before the Knights sealed an eventual 4-0 victory.
Kamrin Mitchell pitched well in a tough loss, while top hitters included Drew Edens (1 for 3) and Dylan Scaramella (1 for 3).
Cloverdale entertained Lower Lake in Friday’s season finale, honoring graduating seniors Patrick Ojeda, Nick Menzell and Mason Kostoff before taking the field.
The Eagles were determined to deny the Trojans their first winning season in 25 years and did just that, plating three runs in the second inning, before adding two more in the third and fourth frames for a 7-1 lead. The Trojans mounted a mild rally in a two-run fifth but the Eagles maintained the lead the rest of the way en route to a 7-4 victory.
