Coming on the heels of two high-scoring wins over their Redwood League rivals, the Healdsburg Greyhounds absorbed a 13-7 loss on April 11, ending a five-game winning streak in games played on their home diamond.
Sophomore Claire Berry on the mound absorbed the loss, but she did get a solo home run to help out on offense. Sophomore Ashley Jenkins and junior Celia Vallotton got two hits each, with Vallotton driving in a pair of runs.
But the lively game went both ways, and the Mustangs from Petaluma, led by Makayla Bignardi’s three RBIs and 11 strike-out performance as pitcher, ended up with the win.
The loss to St. Vincent gave the Lady Greys a 2-1 league record, 6-5 overall, in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive softball season this spring.
It followed two high-scoring wins at home as Healdsburg downed Elsie Allen on April 2 by a 14-4 score, and a week later outpointed the Santa Rosa Panthers 21-11. Healdsburg’s senior ace Laurel Heaney shut out the Lobos for four innings as the Greyhound girls built up a 12-run lead going into the fifth inning. But Heaney struggled in the fifth inning and all four of Elsie’s runs were charged to her, three of them earned. Berry came in for the save to get the final two outs.
Berry also sparked the offense with two triples and two RBIs. Senior Mia Falberg, sophomore Izzy Osborn and freshman Hannah Levine-Smith also got two hits each.
The April 9 Santa Rosa game was a close one until the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Lady Greyhounds exploded for 12 runs to put the game out of reach. Once again Berry tripled, driving in a pair, and two RBIs each were also logged by Falberg, Osborn, freshman Stevie Mitchell and junior Hannah Sellards.
Two road games this week found Healdsburg falling to Ukiah on April 15 with a taxing 16-0, and losing to Piner High the next day, 13-3. The games resulted in a 2-3 league record, 6-7 overall for the Greyhound girls.
