St. Helena ace Smith strikes out 17, Glakeler hits grand slam against Lower Lake
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ST. HELENA >> In a battle of aces, St. Helena’s Tahlia Smith allowed just two hits and no runs while striking out 17 as the Saints improved to 11-0 in the North Central League I softball standings with an 8-0 victory over the Lower Lake Trojans on Friday afternoon in St. Helena.
Smith faced just two batters over the minimum, giving up singles to Grace Reyes and opposing pitcher Mariah Bal. The St. Helena pitcher also went 2-for-4 with a RBI, though it was teammate Emily Glakeler who provided the only hit Smith needed to put another one in the win column. Glakeler’s grand slam in the bottom of the first inning set the tone for the Saints, who carried that 4-0 lead all the way into the bottom of the sixth when they added their final four runs.
Barring an epic collapse by the Saints in their final three league games, all of which are against teams with losing records, and they’ll secure their third straight undisputed league title. They’re also the two-time defending North Coast Section Division 4 champions and last year’s NorCal runner-up.
“They know what they’re doing,” Lower Lake co-head coach Julie Jackson said of the Saints. “You know you’re going to go there and have a challenging game.”
Bal struck out six and walked two while scattering eight hits and allowing four earned runs. She settled down after the first inning, but a couple of miscues by the Trojans in the field allowed St. Helena to break the game wide open with a four-run sixth.
“A blooper behind first base fell,” Jackson said. “No one took charge. It opened things up for them (Saints).”
There were some bright spots for the Lower Lake defense as well.
“Snyder had lots of balls hit to her and did a great job,” Jackson said of second baseman Kerrington Snyder. “And Brialyn got to a ball in the 5-6 hole and made a great stop.”
The Trojans never mounted a serious threat at the plate as Smith simply shut them down.
“We didn’t have a runner get past second (base),” Jackson said.
“I’m proud we held them for as long as we did,” Jackson added of the Saints, who are a combined 62-14 over the last three seasons, including 38-1 in league play.
Lower Lake (6-4, 8-9-1) has four league games remaining and is looking for a strong finish, according to Jackson. The Trojans return home Tuesday to play Upper Lake and also host Clear Lake on Friday.
St. Helena is 17-4 overall.
In other NCL I softball action Friday:
Kelseyville 12, Upper Lake 2 (5 inn.)
At Kelseyville, the Kelseyville Knights (6-5, 6-9) climbed back above .500 in league play with a five-inning victory over the Upper Lake Cougars (1-7, 4-8).
“We played a great game,” Kelseyville head coach Brittany Rumfelt said. “The team showed up and played like a team. I am proud of the girls coming together and supporting each other.”
Winning pitcher Ashlyn Wurm beat her former team by throwing a three-hitter. The junior struck out six and walked four. Aimee Schaefers went the distance for Upper Lake, walking seven and striking out three.
“Jordyn Wurm and Aubree Sperber came up with clutch hits and played great defensively,” Rumfelt said. “It was nice to have almost a full team and get most of them playing time.”
Kylee Denham went 2-for-2 and scored twice for the Knights while Jordyn Wurm (1-for-2) knocked in two runs and scored twice. Ashlyn Wurm (1-for-3), Sperber (1-for-3) and Mati Mateer (1-for-2) also scored twice. Morgan Rogers added a double.
For Upper Lake, Addison Vipond went 1-for-2 with a double while Yadira Beecher went 1-for-1.
There were a couple of highlights for the Cougars in the lopsided loss.
“We had a couple of great catches in left field by junior Leyla Marcks, and a deep hit, earning a double for freshman Addison Vipond, who we recently pulled up from JVs,” Upper Lake head coach Janice Klier said.
Both teams are on the road Tuesday. Upper Lake visits Lower Lake while Kelseyville calls on Clear Lake in Lakeport.
