Softball: Berean Christian Takes Second Place in NCS Tournament

Berean Christian pitcher Jessie Griffith had already ended each of the first three innings with strikeouts, stranding seven runners in scoring position.

Griffith ended the fourth in a similar fashion, but not before Cloverdale put three more runs on the board to take a 4-1 lead. 

The Cloverdale Eagles added a few extra runs for insurance in the sixth and defeated the Berean Christian Eagles Saturday at St. Mary's College, winning the North Coast Section Division IV championship 7-1.

"We fought the whole time," Berean Christian coach Fran Lacey-Grant said.  "We just got ourselves a little too far in the corner … normally we're able to fight our way out, but just not today."

Berean Christian (17-8-1) and Cloverdale (20-4) have met for the NCS championship on two other occasions.  Berean Christian won in 2004; Cloverdale took the title in 2005.  Berean Christian also made it to the championship game in 2003, losing 1-0.

On Saturday, Cloverdale hurler Kena Ruiz didn't allow a hit until the fourth.   She then gave up four straight.  Berean Christian third baseman Brittany McMillen led off the inning with an opposite field single, giving the Eagles just their second baserunner of the game.  Next up, catcher Alex McCullough collected Berean Christian's lone RBI and extra base hit with a double to centerfield, but was cut down between second and third on a play that seemed to involve everyone — an 8-6-2-5-6-1 putout.  Griffith and Jessica Law also had hits in the inning, but didn't make it round to score.

Griffith, the pitcher of record in all of the Eagles' games this season, gave up 14 hits in 6 innings, tight-roping out of danger early on.  She stranded ten baserunners and escaped three bases-loaded jams via the strikeout. 

"She commanded the ball well, just not like she normally does," Lacey-Grant said.  "A couple of her pitches were staying up in the strike zone got hit a little harder than you'd like and found some gaps."

Cloverdale's big inning came in the bottom of the fourth.  Cloverdale had two on with two out and Griffith needed to work her way out of another sticky situation with both runners in scoring position.  Instead, Allison Marrone knocked the runner in from third with a grounder that froze third baseman McMillen.  Ronnilea Moore then laced a single to center and Megan Marin followed with a two-rbi double to left to put Cloverdale up 4-1.

Cherise McEnery, leading Cloverdale with a .525 batting average coming into Saturday, led off the bottom of the sixth with her first hit of the game – a double to center.  Next Marrone added another single and Moore tripled to right.  Two batters later, Ruiz helped herself by knocking in Moore with an RBI single to left.

Berean Christian's Kelcea Peterson and Erika Cremeen poked back-to-back hits up the middle in the top of the 7^th in an attempt to mount a late-inning comeback.  It was just too little, too late for the Eagles, who had an impressive run this season.

"I told the girls that it is a privilege to even be playing today," Lacey-Grant said. "There are a lot of girls sitting at home, wishing they could be here.  Both teams wanted to win; only one can.  I am thrilled that we were here, bummed that we didn't take first place – but second place is pretty darn impressive.  A great way to end the season."

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Cloverdale 7, Berean Christian 1

Berean Christian (16-8-1) 000 100 0 — 1 6 1
Cloverdale (20-4) 010 303 — 7 14 1

Berean Christian (ab-r-h) — Mashburn 4-0-0, McMillen 3-1-1, McCullough 3-0-1, Griffith 3-0-1, Law 3-0-1, English 3-0-0, Cremeen 3-0-1, Peterson 3-0-1, Halvorson 2-0-0.
Cloverdale — Edens 4-1-2, Vandagriff 3-1-0, McEnery 4-1-1, A. Marrone 4-2-3, Moore 4-2-2, Marincic 4-0-2, Ruiz 3-0-3, Lawson 4-0-1, Spaulding 1-0-0, B. Marrone 1-0-0.

Pitching
Berean Christian — Griffith (L) 6 IP, 14 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 6 K, 3 BB.
Cloverdale — Ruiz (W) 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 K, 2 BB.

Batting
2B — McCullough (BC), McEnery (C). 3B — Moore (C). RBI — McCullough (BC), Marincic (C) 3, A. Marrone (C) 2, Moore (C), Ruiz (C).

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