Clear Lake’s top five hitters have big day in North Central League I game against K’ville
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
LAKEPORT >> Scoring early and often, the Clear Lake Cardinals built a 6-1 lead after two innings and cruised to a 12-2 victory over the Kelseyville Knights in a North Central League I softball game called in the bottom of the fifth because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Winning pitcher Atiana Patino allowed only two hits and no earned runs while striking out five and walking two. She was backed by a 10-hit attack.
“I was not expecting that,” Clear Lake head coach Scott Schaefers of the lopsided final score as both teams entered play with 1-2 league records.
After Patino pitched a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, Clear Lake (2-2 league, 8-4 overall) went to work, its first five batters reaching base in the bottom half against losing pitcher AJ Wurm, who went on to strike out the side after allowing three runs.
Those first five hitters in Clear Lake’s batting order – Amelie Davis, Patino, Karsyn Greer, Faith McIntire and Cali Albaum – spent nearly the entire game on base. Davis went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and a RBI; Patino went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs; Greer went 1-for-1 and walked three times; McIntire went 1-for-2 with three RBIs, knocking in a run in three different at-bats; and Albaum went 2-for-2 with four RBIs.
For a team that has had trouble making consistent contact in recent games, including stringing hits together, Thursday’s game was a refreshing break, one much welcomed by Schaefers.
“It was nice to see smiles on their faces again,” Schaefers said. “They really did hit the ball well.”
That was in stark contract to the Knights (1-3, 2-8), who managed only singles by Madison Byrne and Brooke Poff. Kelseyville hitters went down in order twice, sent four batters to the plate two other times, and paraded six batters to the plate in the third but could score only one unearned run in that inning.
“Ati hung in there and her teammates supported,” Schaefers said. “Another nice thing was playing at home. It was only our third home game.”
Davis led off the Clear Lake first with a walk and moved to second on a Patino single to left field. Greer then walked to load the bases in front of McIntire, who singled in the first run of the game. Albaum followed with a two-run single to right. The Cardinals had a chance for an even bigger inning, but Wurm struck out the next three batters to keep the score at 3-0.
Kelseyville got one of those runs right back in the top of the second on Byrne’s leadoff single, a wild pitch and a throwing error on Jordyn Wurm’s grounder to shortstop.
Clear Lake answered with a three-run bottom of the second, a rally that began with one out when Davis’ hard grounder ricocheted off Wurm’s glove and toward third base for an infield single. Patino and Greer drew back-to-back walks to load the bases for McIntire, who lofted a sacrifice fly to left field. Albaum’s single to right field plated another run while an error on the play brought home the third run of the inning.
A pair of walks issued by Patino in the top of the third sandwiched around a fielding error accounted for Kelseyville’s final run as the Knights closed to 6-2.
Clear Lake boosted its lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the fourth on a Patino RBI single and Albaum’s sacrifice fly, this one gloved by AJ Wurm, now playing shortstop, in shallow center field. Her momentum took her away from the infield and allowed Patino to tag up and score from third.
Poff led off the Kelseyville fifth with a single. With one out, Mati Mateer bounced a ball into center field where Davis charged it and threw a strike to second to force Poff.
Clear Lake tacked on its final four runs in the bottom of the fifth on a Davis RBI double, a Patino two-run double, and McIntire’s second sacrifice fly of the game, which gave the Cardinals a 10-run lead and ended the game.
Wurm allowed five hits and six runs in her two innings of work, striking out five and walking four. Byrne pitched the final three innings, allowing five hits and six runs with two strikeouts and three walks.
NOTES: Clear Lake’s Davis and Kelseyville’s Josie Keithly both came close to hitting their fourth home runs of the season. Davis led off the fourth with a double off the base of the fence in left-center field while Keithly blasted a shot down the left-field line that curled foul in the top of the third. She eventually walked … Clear Lake and Kelseyville split their two league meetings a year ago, both teams winning at home and losing on the road … Kelseyville plays a non-league game Monday in Healdsburg at 4 p.m. before returning home Tuesday to take on league-leading Cloverdale at 4 p.m. Clear Lake travels to Lower Lake on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. game with the Trojans … Kelseyville’s Wurm took a ball off her hand in the bottom of the fifth attempting to field a hard-hit grounder but remained in the game after being checked by head coach Brittany Rumfelt.
