Cloverdale sophomore retires all 15 batters she faces in five-inning, 14-0 league win
By Brian Sumpter
Lake County Sports on Facebook
CLOVERDALE >> Camryn Bird’s perfect game didn’t come without its nervous moments Thursday afternoon at Daly Field in Cloverdale.
Bird retired all 15 Lower Lake batters she faced as the North Central League I-leading Eagles improved to 6-0 and 11-2 overall with a 14-0, five-inning victory over the Trojans (2-4, 3-7).
“Look at how well she did, especially for being only a sophomore,” Lower Lake head coach Julie Jackson said.
Bird struck out nine, including the side in the top of the third, as Cloverdale won its seventh straight game. Lower Lake hit only two balls hard against the Eagles’ ace the first four innings. One was Heidi Ortega’s flyout to center field leading off the top of the fourth, the other a hard shot down the right-field line off the bat Shayla McGrath two batters later, a drive that curled foul. Bird worked the count to 3-2 on McGrath, her first three-ball count of the game, before striking her out to end the inning.
All of the high drama for Bird came in the top of the fifth. While the game was well in hand for the Eagles after an eight-run bottom of the fourth pushed their lead to 14-0, the question remained whether or not the Trojans, who have some very capable hitters in their lineup, could break up, in order, Bird’s perfect game, no-hitter and shutout.
Marlene Jack led off the fifth by hitting a squibber back to Bird, who fielded the ball cleanly and had plenty of time to make the throw, one that she bounced near the feet of first baseman Grace Rhodes, the freshman picking the ball out of the dirt for a perfect-game sustaining out.
Jamiya Lee-Ayers nearly broke up the perfect game and no-hitter when she followed with a grounder into the hole at shortstop where Lexie Hernandez backhanded the ball and made a long and accurate throw to first base just in time for the out.
With one out to go, Bird worked the count full to Madelyn Garner, who struck out swinging to end the game, only Bird’s 55th pitch of the game.
Cloverdale scored the only runs Bird would need in the bottom of the first on a RBI single by Emmy Reasoner and Kaloni Brown’s sacrifice fly. The Eagles added four unearned runs in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of four Lower Lake infield errors and two Crystal Pepper walks in the inning. Her defense unable to help her, Pepper helped herself by striking out the side.
The Eagles busted the game wide open in the fourth, helped along by six Pepper walks, a two-run single by Kylee Vlasak (2-for-3, 2 RBIs), two run-scoring wild pitches, two more Lower Lake errors, and Brown’s second sacrifice fly of the game. The senior also had a double off the left-field fence earlier in the inning as the Eagles sent 12 batters to the plate.
That most of Lower Lake’s six errors came on routine plays was a tough pill to swallow for Jackson, who said her team simply needs to “come together” at some point.
“It seems like we have some girls playing well one game, the others not so much,” Jackson said.
Running into a solid team and program such as Cloverdale’s always presents challenges, according to Jackson.
“Obviously no one likes losing, but Margaret (Fitzgerald, Cloverdale head coach) knows what she’s doing, and they have a very well-disciplined team that we’re trying to become,” Jackson said. “We have a very green team and getting there is a slow process.”
Cloverdale is trying to end St. Helena’s reign as league champion. The two teams, both undefeated in league play to this point, have yet to meet this season. They are scheduled to play April 24 in St. Helena and May 13 in Cloverdale, the final league game for both teams.
Lower Lake hits the road Tuesday to play Kelseyville at 4 p.m.
