Sonoma Valley rallies from early 4-1 deficit to beat Clear Lake in non-league action
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SONOMA >> As far as Clear Lake High School softball head coach Scott Schaefers knows, the three-run homer hit by Sonoma Valley’s Deliliah Olivier in the bottom of the third inning is still up in the air, perhaps in orbit by now.
Olivier went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs as the Sonoma Valley Dragons rallied from a 4-1 deficit to beat Clear Lake 11-4 in non-league softball action Monday afternoon in Sonoma.
“Moonshot,” Schaefers said of the ball Olivier hit that tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the third inning.
Trailing 1-0, Clear Lake (12-6) jumped ahead with four runs in the top of the third, a rally fueled by walks. Olivier tied it with one swing of the bat in the bottom half, a shot that Schaefers said cleared the top of the fence “by 30 feet” if not more.
“It was gone the moment it left the bat,” Schaefers said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one hit like that before.”
Sonoma Valley, taking advantage of many of the seven walks issued by losing pitcher Atiana Patino, surged ahead to stay with a five-run bottom of the fourth.
“We had a lot of walks and four hit batters,” Schaefers said of Patino’s tough day throwing the ball.
One bright spot was the play of Clear Lake’s defense, which didn’t commit an error.
“The defense played well,” Schaefers said. “We really played decent.”
The Cardinals finished with five hits, two of them by freshman Sophia Gonzales. Patino, Amelie Davis and Cali Albaum had the others.
“The girls hit the ball hard, but they just found the gloves of the Sonoma players,” Schaefers said. “Tip your hats to them for playing so well.”
Clear Lake jumps back into its North Central League I schedule with back-to-back home games Wednesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. On Wednesday, the Cardinals host Fort Bragg. On Thursday, they entertain Cloverdale.
