Carlmont softball earns big victory over Sequoia

Carlmont, on the other hand, had lost four of its last five, including a disappointing 4-3 loss to Capuchino Tuesday.

But in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division, both teams were tied for third in the standings with 2-1 records. With the meat of the schedule coming up in the next several weeks, the urgency to win games will only increase.For the Scots, that urgency began Thursday as they hosted the Ravens. After the pitchers dominated through the opening innings, the offenses for both teams came alive late and it was Carlmont that did more with the bat as the Scots came away with a 7-4 victory.

“Losing to Cap really hurt. We kind of gave them a lot of runs,” said Carlmont head coach Steve Rianda. “Today, we hit. Both the top half (of the order) and bottom half, hit.”

It took awhile for the hits to come along, and when they did, they came at the right time. All seven of the runs for Carlmont (3-1 PAL Bay, 6-6 overall) came with two outs, with a four-run fifth proving to be the difference.

The rally almost never happened as No. 9 hitter Claire Kettwig clubbed a one-out double off the fence in left field. She was thrown out at third, however, trying to stretch the double into the triple and the game remained tied at 1-1.

Carlmont, however, shook off the bad break. Leadoff hitter Jasleen Singh singled for the first of five straight Scots to reach base. She stole second and scored on Gabby Lee’s single to right. Sassie Block followed with a booming, RBI double off the fence in center field to give Carlmont a 3-1 lead.

Grace Schumacher became the fourth straight Scot to reach when she walked and both runners came home on an Izzy Won two-run double to give Carlmont a 5-1 lead.

“They came ready to hit,” Sequoia head coach Michelle Sarrail said of the Scots. “The question was who’s going to break through first?”

That Carlmont rally seemed to shake Sequoia (2-2, 9-4) out of its offensive doldrums as the Ravens answered with three runs in the top of the sixth. Mackenzie Jackson led off the rally with a double. Claire Sarrail was hit by a pitch and Emerson Seevers drove in Jackson with a single to right, with Sarrail eventually scoring from third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Gigi Odom kept the inning alive with a RBI single to drive in Seevers, but a line drive to Carlmont second baseman Won was turned into a double play to end threat, with Carlmont clinging to a 5-4 lead.

The Scots gave themselves some breathing room in the bottom half of the inning, however, scoring two more runs on a Singh RBI triple. Singh then scored on a wild pitch to put Carlmont up 7-4.

“Those were big insurance runs,” Rianda said. “[Sequoia has] power up and down the lineup.”

While the final couple of innings were an offensive onslaught, the first four innings were a tight pitching battle. Sequoia put the pressure on Carlmont starter Block immediately, scoring once in the top of the first to take a quick 1-0 lead. Tokheim was hit on the foot leading off the game. She was none the worse for wear as she promptly stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. She ended up scoring on a Jackson sacrifice fly to center.

The Ravens, however, would manage only one hit through the first four innings against Block.

“She was fantastic,” Rianda said of Block. “She kept them in check.”

Said Coach Sarrail: “We couldn’t string any hits together. You don’t hit … you don’t score.”

Block’s counterpart, Ainsley Waddell, was just as strong. She gave up a leadoff base hit to Singh in the first, the only hit allowed through four innings as well.

Carlmont, however, managed to tie the score with an unearned run in the second. With one out, Kylie Rouspil reached on an error and went to second on a groundout. The inning appeared over when Kettwig hit a slow chopper to shortstop, but the throw to first was low, with Rouspil scoring on the play.

“This was huge,” Rianda said of the win. “Especially beating Sequoia. We have a lot of players (from both teams) who played together (in the youth leagues and club teams).

“It’s a good rivalry.”

For Coach Sarrail and the Ravens, they’ll simply get back on the horse.

“Time for us to regroup and refocus,” Coach Sarrail said. “We hit a bump today and we will go right back to work tomorrow.”