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Softball Roundup: Reed, Sp. Springs earn sweeps

For those who missed Saturday’s Northern 4A softball doubleheader between Reed and Carson, it was a good one.

For those who attended the twin bill, but still missed part of it due to the unofficial Shadow Mountain Park Dust Bowl of 2012, the Raiders came away with an impressive 6-3, 2-0 sweep over one of the Sierra League’s strongest squads.

"This is the worst weather I’ve ever played in at Reed," Reed softball coach Jon Wunder said.

It took a little more work for Reed to get the Game 2 win.

The strong gusts blew dirt toward home plate, causing a handful of stoppages throughout the day. Then, by the time the sixth inning of the second game rolled around, the temperature instantly dropped about 15 degrees and the weather fluctuated between rain, hail and snow.

Those elements contributed to offensive challenges.

The Senators enjoyed more success early on, but two base running errors erased a pair of runners from scoring position.

The Raiders took a while to get going, but they played small ball perfectly in the fifth and sixth innings to score the only runs of a game in which both teams recorded just three hits.

Shivaun Landeros was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the fifth. Danaya Thompson dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move her up into scoring position.

Andi Lee delivered with a seeing-eye single up the middle, driving in the game’s first run.

In the bottom of the sixth, Marriah Levesque drew a leadoff walk. Cori Gammon hit a high chopper to short that she beat out for an infield single. A double steal left runners on second and third, and Mary Dettling lifted a sac fly to center field, adding the insurance run.

"That first game, the wind was horrific, but it affects both teams," Wunder said. "I thought both teams did a pretty good job staying focused and making the most of their at-bats."

Megan Dettling worked all seven innings in the circle for Reed. The sophomore tossed a 3-hitter, striking out six and walking one.

There was more offense in the early game Saturday.

Reed pushed across four runs in the first after the Senators took an initial 1-0 lead, and the hosts never trailed again.

For Carson, Danielle Morrow drove in a run with a single in the first and had a two-run double in the third, cutting the deficit to 4-3.

The Blue and Gold added two more runs in the sixth, padding its cushion to 6-3. A sacrifice fly by Lee plated one run and Gammon capped her 3-for-4 performance with an RBI single.

The Senators threatened in the top of the seventh. With runners on second and third and two outs, the tying run came to the plate, but Reed pitcher Jackie Sertic induced a game-ending groundout to shortstop. Sertic pitched a complete game, scattering five hits, while striking out eight and walking two.

Lindsay Yearman added two hits, including an RBI single for the Raiders, who out-hit Carson 8-5 in the opener.

"They’re the best team we’ve seen this year in league," Wunder said. "We know they can hit. They’ve got good pitching. We can only control what we can control. We got two solid pitching performances from both Jackie and Megan. We played solid defense. We hit the ball when we needed to and had some really good base running. Our bench players came off the bench and contributed. It was an overall team effort."

Reed (11-2, 8-0 in Northern 4A) hosts Bishop Manogue Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 3:45 p.m.