The fact that Cassie Waggy left third base early when tagging-up on a fly ball – costing her east Union Lancer squad an out during an early game rally – didn’t even matter.
Prior to Waggy’s early departure the Lancers had already racked up three runs in the bottom of the third inning – the same time frame where the host Manteca Buffaloes finally got back through to the top of their batting order thanks to East Union’s Kourtni McCall’s dynamic pitching.
And by the time the dust finally settled, East Union found itself comfortably cruising away with a 14-0 lead in the intracity rivalry match that improves its Valley Oak League record to 4-0 and allows the Lancers to maintain the league’s top position.
“We had a hard time adjusting to the pitching out there at first,” East Union head coach Brian Goulart said – referring to the three-up and three-down that Mariah Navarro dealt to start the contest. “But then we caught fire and it got contagious.
“I am glad to see our girls out there making adjustments – semi-quick – and getting the job done. The girls are working very hard right now and paying attention and it’s really showing.”
The Lancers led the contest 5-0 at top of the third quarter, and managed to extend the lead to 9-0 after making another collective trip to the plate.
It would be their offense during the fifth inning that would both take the wind out Manteca’s sails while simultaneously putting the game out of reach – adding he final five runs before McCall returned to the mound to retire the side and secure the Lancer victory.
“We played defense the first couple of innings, and then we decided not to after that,” Manteca head coach Todd Hardcastle said. “They hit the ball really well and you can’t do anything about that. But then we had way too many errors to stay in a game against a team like that.
“But we did alright offensively – we made good contact and got girls on base against a good starting pitcher like McCall. Only four of our starters struck out against her today.”
On top of the shutout, McCall only gave up one hit and two walks while striking out five.
But as solid as McCall’s pitching was, it was the offensive production by players like Jessica Lavoie that helped shape the course of events for East Union (4-0 VOL, 9-2).
After a rough outing against a stingy Oakdale team, Lavoie fired back Wednesday to finish the game 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI sacrifice fly – helping rebuild her confidence as the Lady Lancers look towards another VOL championship.
“Against Oakdale last week I was nervous because it was really a big game and I just pulled my head and ended up 0 for 3,” Lavoie said. “In this game today, I was focusing on staying confident and not pulling my head, and that’s exactly how things worked out for me.”
McCall also backed up her performance in the circle from the plate, coming up with a 2-for-3 performance – scoring three runs and driving in a pair. Brittany Lamar crossed home plate each of the four times that she stepped up to bat Wednesday afternoon at Manteca High.
Prior to Waggy’s early departure the Lancers had already racked up three runs in the bottom of the third inning – the same time frame where the host Manteca Buffaloes finally got back through to the top of their batting order thanks to East Union’s Kourtni McCall’s dynamic pitching.
And by the time the dust finally settled, East Union found itself comfortably cruising away with a 14-0 lead in the intracity rivalry match that improves its Valley Oak League record to 4-0 and allows the Lancers to maintain the league’s top position.
“We had a hard time adjusting to the pitching out there at first,” East Union head coach Brian Goulart said – referring to the three-up and three-down that Mariah Navarro dealt to start the contest. “But then we caught fire and it got contagious.
“I am glad to see our girls out there making adjustments – semi-quick – and getting the job done. The girls are working very hard right now and paying attention and it’s really showing.”
The Lancers led the contest 5-0 at top of the third quarter, and managed to extend the lead to 9-0 after making another collective trip to the plate.
It would be their offense during the fifth inning that would both take the wind out Manteca’s sails while simultaneously putting the game out of reach – adding he final five runs before McCall returned to the mound to retire the side and secure the Lancer victory.
“We played defense the first couple of innings, and then we decided not to after that,” Manteca head coach Todd Hardcastle said. “They hit the ball really well and you can’t do anything about that. But then we had way too many errors to stay in a game against a team like that.
“But we did alright offensively – we made good contact and got girls on base against a good starting pitcher like McCall. Only four of our starters struck out against her today.”
On top of the shutout, McCall only gave up one hit and two walks while striking out five.
But as solid as McCall’s pitching was, it was the offensive production by players like Jessica Lavoie that helped shape the course of events for East Union (4-0 VOL, 9-2).
After a rough outing against a stingy Oakdale team, Lavoie fired back Wednesday to finish the game 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI sacrifice fly – helping rebuild her confidence as the Lady Lancers look towards another VOL championship.
“Against Oakdale last week I was nervous because it was really a big game and I just pulled my head and ended up 0 for 3,” Lavoie said. “In this game today, I was focusing on staying confident and not pulling my head, and that’s exactly how things worked out for me.”
McCall also backed up her performance in the circle from the plate, coming up with a 2-for-3 performance – scoring three runs and driving in a pair. Brittany Lamar crossed home plate each of the four times that she stepped up to bat Wednesday afternoon at Manteca High.
