Cardinals open the season on the road against Swett High School in Crockett
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CROCKETT >> Sawyer Smith and AJ Bruch combined on a five-hitter for Clear Lake, but Swett High School’s Michael Golden did even better while pitching the Warriors to a 3-1 non-league win on Friday in Crockett.
Golden worked the first six innings for Swett, limiting the Cardinals (0-1), who were making their season debut, to just two hits and one unearned run with six strikeouts and one walk. Adam Miranda worked a perfect seventh for the save, striking out one.
“Their pitcher did a good job keeping us off balance with a two-seam slider,” Clear Lake head coach Brian Horne said. “He was jumping ahead in the count. We weren’t aggressive enough.”
Swett (2-0) scored twice in the bottom of the third and added an insurance run in the fifth. Clear Lake finally broke through in the sixth.
Smith worked four-plus innings for the Cardinals, allowing three runs, only one of which was earned, striking out four and walking four. Bruch finished with three scoreless innings of relief, striking out five.
“Sawyer did a great job,” Horne said. “They (Warriors} played good baseball. We need to re-focus in the cage and get back to doing what we do best. We’re a gap-to-gap (hitting) team.”
Clear Lake’s two hits belonged to David Cruz (1-for-2) and Jesse Hayes (1-for-3). Hayes stole three bases and Cruz two.
Clear Lake returns most of its starting lineup from last year’s 19-6 team that reached the North Coast Section Division 4 finals.
The Cardinals return to action Thursday against Napa at 3 p.m. in the opening round of the Pleasant Valley Tournament in Chico. They play two more games Friday.
