Before getting to the Friday recap, I need to payback the El Molino Softball team for botching up an article from the other day. This was a roster disaster and I failed to double check my work, so I wrote an incomplete piece. Let me fill in the blanks.
The El Molino-Piner softball game the other day was between two programs that are trying to turn things around. After years of being towards the bottom of the league standings, they finished tied for the final SCL post season tournament spot in 2013. The tie-breaker was won by Piner.
For El Molino who went into the game 1-3 in SCL play, the comeback looked stalled. For Piner it looked a little more promising. They were 3-3 in league and just missed another win against Analy in a game they led late.
Going over .500 would be a new world for the Piner Softball team. After a win over Elsie Allen on Monday, all they would need is a win over El Molino and Piner would get to the magic mark.
Easier said than done.
El Molino missed out on several early scoring opportunities, but the dam finally broke in the fifth and sixth innings as El Molino rallied for a 15-9 win.
In what seems to be a trend for high school softball, the game started ten minutes before the official 4 pm game time. Even before the official start time and before most of the crowd had showed up, El Molino had the lead. A two out triple by Andriana Albini gave El Molino a 2-0 lead.
El Molino had chances the next two innings to build on that lead, having runners at second and third with one out in each inning and didn’t score. Piner freshman Sienna Carretero, who is batting a team high .481, launched a two out, two run homer in the bottom of the third to tie the game. Things got worse for El Molino in the fourth. A two run triple by Cailyn Calison was followed by a RBI double by Victoria Torres to give Piner a 5-2 lead.
It appeared that Callison was going to dodge another bullet in the fifth when El Molino loaded the bases with one out. But a two out single by Rene Lunardi was bobbled in left field and that allowed all three runners to score and just like that it was a 5-5 game. Sierra Fiddler followed with an RBI single which turned out to give El Molino the lead for good.
Both Piner and El Molino are young teams, each having only two seniors. The clutch hit by Fiddler, who is a sophomore, opened the flood gates. In the sixth inning twelve batters came to the plate. Megan Cheatham, one of the seniors, had an RBI double and Lunardi (a junior) drove in another run with a single. By the time the inning ended El Molino had scored seven runs to put the game away. Five of the seven runs were scored after two were out. They would add a two run homer by Kayla Allen (Jr.) in the seventh which was enough for winning pitcher Maddy Ming (Soph).
Since the Tuesday game El Molino added a win over Healdsburg and are 6-10 overall and 3-3 in SCL play. El Molino will try to get over the magic .500 mark on Tuesday when they travel to Analy.
The news for Piner isn’t as good as they fell to Sonoma Valley and is 3-5 in SCL play.
FRIDAY RECAP
With the bad weather it is a surprise we are having a Friday recap, but all four North Bay League baseball games are in the books.
It was business as usual for the No. 1 Maria Carrillo Baseball team. Business as usual is a win with at least one big inning. The Pumas scored all of its runs in the fourth inning in a 9-0 win over Windsor. The game was called after the fifth. Eight times Maria Carrillo has scored at least five runs in an inning. They have been particularly tough on Windsor. In the two league games neither team scored in thirteen of the fifteen innings they played. In the other two innings Maria Carrillo outscored Windsor 19-0.
Peter Hoge pitched a complete game two hitter and struck out six. Maria Carrillo has given up 16 runs in ten NBL games. Keith Wallach and Austin Martinez each had two hits, two RBI and scored twice in the nine run fourth.
Maria Carrillo keeps its two game lead over #4 Montgomery who had a big inning of its own and defeated Rancho Cotate 7-2. Montgomery scored five in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie, with a two run single by Kiel Long breaking the tie. That was one of two hits for Long who is batting .360 on the season. Jared Noonan went the distance to raise his record to 5-2 and lower his ERA to 2.60.
For the second time this week Ukiah lost a one run game, this one to Casa Grande 2-1. Freshman Spencer Torkelson scored one and drove in the other. Three pitchers combined to hold Ukiah to two hits.
The next league day for the NBL is Wednesday, but there are two non-league games on Monday.
Casa Grande has a big test traveling to four time defending NCS champion Campolindo. Campolindo is 15-3 this season and defeated Casa Grande in last year’s championship game.
Maria Carrillo has a home game against Vintage who is 10-10 on the season.
With four games to go Maria Carrillo holds its two game lead on Montgomery in the NBL race.
In the other NBL game No. 7 Cardinal Newman defeated Santa Rosa 13-1. Three players drove in two runs and Cal Clamar went six innings to get the win.
RAIN DID HAVE AN AFFECT
While the NBL got its games in, the SCL wasn’t so lucky.
Two games were started and will be resumed.
El Molino and Piner played one inning and will continue the game today (Saturday) at 2 pm at Piner.
Elsie Allen has a 2-1 lead over Healdsburg in the bottom of the fourth when that game was stopped. That game will be resumed on Wednesday.
No. 3 Petaluma had a game scheduled at No. 8 Sonoma Valley Friday Night. There is no report on whether that game was played.
No.2 Analy, who has a two game lead, had the league bye.
In a non-league softball game Eureka traveled to No. 2 Rancho Cotate and had to wonder about the long trip. They did get a rain shortened six inning game in which was won by Rancho Cotate 7-0 with Brittney Scardina pitching a two hit shutout. Jordan Ladner had two hits and drove in three runs.
My email address is jacpasquini@comcast.net