Softball: Cal's EBAL Titles Hopes Down the Drain

Livermore 9, California 1

Records: California 15-5, 9-4 EBAL, Livermore 10-3 EBAL

The Star: For Cal, senior pitcher Anna Cade threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief after the Grizzlies found themselves in an early hole.

The Turning Point: After Cal cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the third, Livermore responded with six unearned runs in the bottom half of the inning to put the game away.

The Quote: "It was just one of those days," Cal coach Kristina Thorson said. "We have to flush it down the toilet and move on."

 Who's Next? The Grizzlies will wrap up the regular season against Carondelet on Thursday before the North Coast Section Division I playoffs begin next week.

The Bottom Line: With the win, Livermore clinched the East Bay Athletic League title. However, Cal still figures to be among the top seeds when the NCS brackets are released on Sunday.

—————————————————

In its first 12 games of the East Bay Athletic League season, the California High softball team made its mark with pitching and defense — allowing just 19 runs over that span.

So when Livermore scored nine runs in the first three innings of Tuesday's first-place showdown at Robertson Park in Livermore, the Grizzlies had reason to be frustrated.

A win for Cal would have clinched a share of the league title and put the Grizzlies alone in first place with one regular-season game remaining.

Instead, they'll have to regroup from a 9-1 loss and use Thursday's game against Carondelet as a warm-up for the North Coast Section Division I playoffs.

"It was just one of those days," Cal coach Kristina Thorson said. "We have to flush it down the toilet and move on."

It was a tough-luck outing for Cal starting pitcher Brittany Wright, who allowed nine runs in 2 2/3 innings — two of them earned.

In Livermore's six-run third, the Cowboys scored their first three runs without registering a hit and benefited by two Cal errors, a walk and two hit batsmen.

Anna Cade relieved Wright with two outs in the third, but immediately allowed a bases-clearing double and would load the bases before striking out Sammi Schiller to end the inning. She went on to throw three scoreless innings the rest of the way.

With Cal trailing by such a large margin, Thorson took the opportunity to bring some younger players off the bench. Freshmen Joelle Williams and Shayna Friedman both got late-game at bats.

"It wasn't the ideal situation to get them in the game, but I'm glad we were able to do it," Thorson said. "They're going to be very good players."

Freshman Jessica Catson tripled off the wall in the third and later scored on a Livermore error to give the Grizzlies their only run of the game. 

———————————————————

Livermore 9, California 1

California (9-4 EBAL) 001 000 0 — 1 2 4

Livermore (10-3) 126 000 x — 9 10 1

California — Niedzwecki 2-0-0, Falzon 1-0-0, Williams 1-0-0, Wright 2-0-0, Cade 1-0-0, Fowler 2-0-0, Friedman 1-0-0, Nisbet 2-0-0, Duffy 2-0-0, Heller 1-0-0, Quilalang 2-0-1, Catson 3-1-1, Cooper 1-0-0, Leon 2-0-0.

Livermore — Keller 3-2-3, Sabatini 3-0-1, Taylor 4-0-1, Gilbert 2-0-0, Schiller 3-1-1, Munns 3-0-1, Smith 0-1-0, Hubert 3-1-1, Carbisco 1-0-0, Beights 1-2-0, Weiler 1-0-0, Lanzar 4-2-3.

Pitching

Cal — Wright (L) 2.2 IP, 10 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 K; Cade 3.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K.

Livermore — Schiller 7 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K.

Batting

2B — Sabatini (L); 3B — Catson (C).

———————————

Follow Patch Sports East Bay on Twitter