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SOFTBALL: Yucaipa 10, Eisenhower 1

Yucaipa 10, Rialto Eisenhower 1. WP – Bollinger. LP – Timeda. Leading hitters – Maxwell (Y) 2-4, Howard (Y) 2-4, Harps (Y) 3-4. 2B – Haprs (Y). 3B – Howard (Y). HR – Roberts (Y).

Highlights: Brooke Bollinger pitched seven innings with 13 strikeouts.

(Yucaipa is 8-8, 4-2 in league. Eisenhower is 4-11, 2-4 in league.)

The Del Norte High softball team made quite a run to open the season, but the dream of an undefeated season officially came to an end Saturday in the championship game of the Jaguar tournament.

The Nighthawks (13-1-1) went 14 games without a loss and had over 10 runs a game in their last four contests before finally losing 10-1 to Point Loma Saturday afternoon at Valley Center High School.

Point Loma used five home runs to power the offense and held a potent Del Norte lineup to just one run. The 14 games without a loss is easily a school record for the three-year-old Nighthawks’ softball program. The school is already just one win shy of matching the school record for wins in a single season.

"We didn’t expect to win them all," Del Norte coach Steve Kuptz said. "The field at Valley Center is 180-feet to centerfield. They literally hit five balls that would have been outs, if we were playing at our field. But we were playing on the same field, so you just tip your hat to them. They played great." The Nighthawks advanced to the championship game by beating Olympian 12-2 in a game shortened to five innings due to the 10-run rule. Dana Cruse went the distance to get the win, striking out 10 batters.

Del Norte had no trouble ripping the ball around the yard in that one. But when it came time to play Point Loma, all the hard hit balls by the Nighthawks seemed to find a glove. "We hit the ball hard in both games," Kuptz said. "It was just one of those games where every ball they hit was up in the air over the fence, and every ball we hit was right at somebody." The Nighthawks will face their toughest test of the season next week, playing Rancho Bernardo and Westview. Both the Broncos and Wolverines are ranked in the top-10 of the county. "This is an opportunity to find out if we are contenders or pretenders," Kuptz said. "If we play well against both teams, we should be in reasonable shape as we head into league. It is nice that it is happening in the middle of season, and against two teams in our area. It will be a barometer as to where we are as a program."

Reed dumps Wooster

What a difference a day can make when it comes to northern Nevada spring weather. A day after battling through snow flurries, the Reed High softball team took advantage of a beautiful sunny, dry afternoon. Reed’s performance was nearly as flawless as the warm, windless afternoon that saw the RHS nine cruise to a 12-2 Northern 4A League win at home over Wooster Friday.

The contest was shortened to five innings when Reed put the 10-run mercy rule into effect.

Wooster took a brief 1-0 lead as it scored a run in the top of the first. Alyssa Mallorca singled and scored after a Reed error and a double by Charlee Thompson.

That’s pretty much as good as it got for the visiting Colts. Reed knotted the game at 1-1 with a score of its own in the bottom of the first. Raiders leadoff hitter Hannah Martini singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came home on a sacrifice fly by Shivaun Landeros.

Reed did not trail again. In fact, it blew the game open in the bottom of the second. After retiring Wooster with a scoreless top half of the inning, Reed exploded for seven runs in its half of the frame.

Danaya Thompson got the Reed rally started. She singled and scored after a sac bunt and an RBI single by Laura Frost. Martini and Cori Gammon followed and reached after a single and getting hit by a pitch respectively. That loaded the bases for Mary Dettling who laced a two-run single, giving Reed a 4-1 lead.

Next, Makaela Moore walked to again saturate the sacks with Raiders. Landeros was walked as well, forcing in a run. Andi Lee proceeded to hit into a fielder’s choice that scored another run. The pain finally ended for Wooster after Thompson reached on an error, that plated a Reed run, and Lindsey Yearman rapped out a run-scoring single, extending the Raiders’ edge to 8-1.

"I’m pleased with our hitting," Reed coach Jon Wunder said. "When you jump out like that, it gives you a chance to get some other kids some experience and then those kids came through too, which is what you need for that second half of the season."

In the third, Reed tacked on another run. Dettling reached on a fielder’s choice and circled the sacks after singles by Moore and Landeros.

The Raiders put the finishing touches on their offensive show by posting their final trio of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Megan Dettling, Martini and Gammon all singled and scored, accounting for the triumvirate of runs.

Wooster (3-13, 1-9 Northern 4A) added a run in the top of the fifth when pinch hitter Sadie Elias turned on a pitch and deposited it beyond the left-field fence for a solo homer. However, the one run was all Wooster could get and the double-digit margin was still in play, enforcing the mercy rule and ending the conference clash.

"Reed hit the ball and had some good base running, but then we made some errors too and they capitalized," Wooster coach Beth Hendricks said. "If we are able to make some of those plays, that keeps them from getting the big hit and gets us out of those big innings."

Jackie Sertic worked the first four innings in the circle for Reed and earned the pitching victory. She scattered three Colts hits while allowing one earned run in a three-strikeout, one-walk effort. Sophomore Marriah Levesque came on in relief for Reed in the fifth and closed out the lopsided affair.

Martini and Mary Dettling led Reed, which banged out 16 hits en route to victory, with a pair of 3-for-4 performances. Moore was solid as well at the dish with two hits in three plate appearances.

Reed (14-2, 11-0) will get a week off from game action before it returns to the diamond. Next up on the Raiders’ schedule is its annual Easter Tournament. That will be played April 13-14 at Shadow Mountain Park.

Cougars, Raiders pick up key league softball wins

The Raiders did not exactly have an overpowering performance at the dish in the blustery wind and snow, but did enough to gain the win.

"Obviously it was cold and snowy but we managed and we had seven hits which was more than enough to get the job done," Reed coach Jon Wunder said. "We hit some fly balls to the outfield that we got under the ball a little bit too much on. It was an average day at the plate for us. We could have done better but we did enough to get the win."

The first two innings passed without either team generating any offense, but the Blue and Gold finally got its bats going in the top of the third.

Sophomore Megan Dettling led off the inning with a single, followed by a single from senior Hannah Martini. Senior Cori Gammon then delivered a single to score Dettling before sister Mary Dettling also singled to plate Martini for a 2-0 edge. A fielder’s choice allowed Gammon to touch home before the scoring was rounded out with a single from senior Andi Lee that sent Mary Dettling to the plate for a 4-0 Reed advantage.

The Raiders scored four more runs in the top of the fourth inning. With one out and runners on the corners, Lindsay Yearman took home on a wild pitch for the first tally of the inning. Gammon delivered with another single to score Martini, before a walk to Mary Dettling and an ensuing error off the bat of Shivaun Landeros sent Gammon around the bases. Mary Dettling capped the rally on a passed ball, leaving the scoreboard reading 8-0 in favor of the visitors.

Galena finally got on the board in the bottom of the frame, pushing a run across the plate to make the score 8-1.

The top of the fifth saw the Raiders add two more runs, with the Grizzlies responding with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning for a 10-2 difference.

A three-run homer from Galena senior McKenzie Wasley in the sixth brought the score to the final of 10-5.

Megan Dettling took the circle for the Raiders, pitching six innings for the win while striking out eight. Sophomore Jackie Sertic relieved Dettling in the seventh, striking out two and forcing a pop up to seal the victory. Wunder was pleased with the performance from his hurlers.

"Megan had eight strikeouts and she was strong early on," Wunder said. "That’s about what she averages. She was hitting her spots well. We just had that one inning where she came out and was cold and she had a little trouble finding the strike zone. Ultimately she worked herself out of that inning. Then I brought Jackie in fresh off the bench to close out that seventh inning. They complement each other well."

With the season almost at the half-way point, Wunder said he wants his team to remain focused.

"Our focus is one game at a time," Wunder said. "We don’t look past anybody. We go out there and our motto is to finish strong. Last year we would get a couple runs early and then we would kind of fizzle and our goal this season is to score in the sixth or seventh inning of every game. We want to finish strong. Obviously we’re having success, but I honestly believe that we have the toughest part of our schedule ahead of us."

Reed (13-2, 10-0 Northern 4A) plays Wooster today at home with the game slated for 3:45 p.m.

Steve Kuptz took the 2009 CIF section championship patch he earned while the head coach of the Rancho Bernardo High softball team and pinned it to the Del Norte team board for all of his players to see. Del Norte High junior pitcher Dana Cruse is one of many reasons for the Nighthawks’ fast start. Photo by Steve Logsdon "We told them, ‘this is what you’re working for,’" said Kuptz, who is now in his third season as the leader of the Nighthawks program. "We wanted all the kids to see it." Del Norte is certainly playing like a team on a mission for its first section title in school history. The Nighthawks, only in their second year with a varsity team and first with seniors, opened the season winning nine of its first 10 games. The only blemish was a 1-1 tie to Imperial on March 23. "What we are seeing is the kids are a year older," Kuptz said. "They have matured and they understand our system and what we expect from a work ethic standpoint." Success has come quickly for Del Norte. The program started playing at the junior varsity level two years ago and then played its first season at the varsity level last year, finishing with an impressive 14-12 record. "The first varsity season was kind of eye-opening for the kids," Kuptz said. "Most of our starters were juniors. Now we have seniors and they have stepped up. All five of our seniors are producing for us." Three of the five seniors have signed to play for colleges next year. Jessica Bever will play for St. Mary’s, a Division I school in Moraga, Megan Vincent will play for Chadron State, a Division II school in Nebraska and Emily Harper-Guerra will play at St. Anselm, a Division II school in New Hampshire. The amount of talented players on the Nighthawks goes much further than those three. Del Norte features a 15-player roster and filling out a lineup card has been challenging — in a good way — for Kuptz. "We have more than nine capable players we can put in the lineup," he said. "There isn’t a kid on this team that cannot hit or play and that’s what makes it hard. It is a great problem to have."

The fact the roster runs so deep is a bit of a surprise. The 4S Ranch community is still developing and has only had a recreation league in the area for three years. The Nighthawks should feel the impact of those youth softball programs in the next few years. But Kuptz and his coaching staff, which includes Rick Lysander and Raylene Asman, have already built a solid foundation thanks to a combination of their dedication and the players’ dedication. The program is set for the future, but playing like a championship-caliber team now. "These kids know they are never out of any game and when they make a mistake they come right back and make a good play. Last year, they would make a mistake and then another mistake and then another mistake. That is the maturity part of it. They are much more focused and more intense."

And very much a contender.