Cloverdale to host Kelseyville in title showdown on May 16
The cream has risen to the top of the NCL 1 softball heap this month, as the Lady Eagles make a strong bid to claim a coveted league championship.
Cloverdale scored a pair of key one-run victories over league foes last week, notching wins over Lower Lake (2-1) and Clear Lake (6-5, 8 innings) to maintain first place.
At the start of play this week the Lady Eagles (15-3 overall) were in a tie for the top spot with Kelseyville at 9-1, followed by Lower Lake (7-3), Clear Lake (5-6), Willits (4-6), Fort Bragg (3-7), Middletown (2-8) and St. Helena (2-9).
Upcoming games for Cloverdale include May 9 (after press time) against visiting St. Helena and Friday, May 12 at Willits. Cloverdale will host Kelseyville in a first-place showdown next Tuesday, May 16. All games start at 4 p.m.
Ladies notch wins
Cloverdale traveled to Lower Lake for a May 2 clash, as Eagles ace Tehya Bird locked horns with Trojans starter Shelby Sepeda in a classic pitchers’ duel. Deadlocked at 1-1 after two, Cloverdale scratched for a solo run and Bird (7 IP, 3 hits, 0 ERs, 7 Ks) made the lead stand up the rest of the way en route to a 2-1 victory. Leading hitters were Heather Sterling (2 for 3, 2B, RBI), Lane Hughes (2 for 3, RBI) and Emily Harris (1 for 1). Bird scored both runs for the Eagles.
Cloverdale was engaged in a seesaw battle in Friday’s eight-inning tilt against visiting Clear Lake, taking a 2-0 cushion into the fifth before the Cardinals rallied for four runs to take the lead. The Eagles answered with another pair of runs in the bottom of the frame for a 4-4 tie, but Clear Lake pushed across another three runs in the sixth to lead 7-4.
The Lady Eagles would show the stuff of champions, rallying for one run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to send the contest into extra innings knotted at 7-7 before plating the winning run in the eighth to emerge with an 8-7 victory.
Bird (8 IP, 7 hits, 2 ERs, 9 Ks) got the win, while top batters were Sterling (4 for 5, 2B, run, RBI), Bird (3 for 3, 4 runs), Hannah Bireschi (2 for 5, run, 3 RBIs), Josie Marrufo (2 for 5, run), Harris (1 for 4, RBI) and Alma Beltran (1 for 2, run, RBI).
Baseballers gain split
The varsity baseball Eagles gained an even split in a pair of league outings last week, climbing back into the win column in a wild 9-7 victory at Lower Lake on May 2 before falling to visiting Clear Lake on Friday, 6-5 (no stats reported).
This week Cloverdale (2-7, 3-10) played host to St. Helena on May 9 before hitting the road for a Friday, May 12 visit to Willits. All games start at 4 p.m.
