The St. Bernard’s Crusaders softball team will have a chance at a North Coast Section title on Friday after a 4-0 shutout win over Lower Lake in the Division 5 semifinal in Samoa on Tuesday.
Things didn’t get off to the most promising start for the Crusaders, as they went hitless the first time through the lineup against Lower Lake’s junior pitcher Mariah Bal, who struck out the side in both the second and third inning.
What kept the Crusaders in the game in the early goings was freshman pitcher Oni Orcutt. Orcutt came up big on Tuesday, throwing a complete game shutout, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out five.
“She’s been our most consistent pitcher, she’s wise beyond her years. She doesn’t come out and have problems with pressure even though she is a freshman,” Crusaders’ head coach Brian Finck said of Orcutt. “She did a great job today.”
It’s easy to assume that starting in the NCS playoffs would be a nerve-wracking experience for a young player but that’s not always the case.
“I don’t find it that intimidating actually,” Orcutt said postgame on Tuesday. “I try to think about nothing, I just throw the ball.”
One year ago, Orcutt was facing off against middle schoolers and now she’s already racked up three wins in the NCS playoffs alone.
“It’s a big jump so coming to this level has been a real challenge but I feel like I’m meeting it really well,” Orcutt said. “I worked really hard during the offseason so it’s rewarding to see that all my hard work is coming out to this.”
St. Bernard’s offense began to pull its weight in the fourth inning. Leadoff hitter, freshman Kyna Tupua, began the half inning with a single and the pressure on the basepaths resulted in a run, with Tupua stealing second before advancing to third and later scoring on a wild pitch to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead.
St. Bernard’s was not done there. The next batter, sophom*ore Sahara Tupua, drew a walk, then stole second and advanced to third once the throw got away from the Lower Lake defense. Tupua then scored on a groundout by senior Hannah Finck. The Crusaders mustered up a third run after sophom*ore Makinsey Lemley doubled to right-center field, Lemley then scored off a sacrifice fly by sophom*ore Bailee White before Lower Lake escaped the inning.
“We struggled the first time through the lineup but they came alive the second time through,” Finck said. “We started timing it up, put the ball in play and made the defense work. Going through the second time was the key to that.”
Orcutt put up two more clean innings for the Crusaders before they added to the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Sahara Tupua singled to left field, but the ball would evaded the Lower Lake outfielder with Tupua sprinting around the bases all the way home for the inside-the-park home run with the aid of the Lower Lake error.
“She went through the stop signal but she knew what she was going to do. She knows her speed,” Finck said of Tupua speeding around the bases. “She knows what she’s capable of doing.”
The Crusader defense stepped up in a big way to close out the game in the seventh. The shortstop White made a fine play on a ball deep in the hole and was able to fire onto first for the first out of the inning before sophom*ore Emma Mowery initiated a game-ending double play, placing a tag on a Lower Lake baserunner before throwing to first in time for the final out to advance St. Bernard’s into the Division 5 championship game.
“This is the most fans I’ve seen out here. The locals come out and support the girls, especially for the playoffs,” Finck said of the crowd at Samoa Field on Tuesday. “This was an excellent crowd for us.”
The Division 5 tournament has been filled with upsets, with another one on Tuesday as No. 5 seed Berean Christian upset No. 1 seed Clear Lake in the other semifinal matchup, meaning that the No. 6 seeded Crusaders will head to Concord for Friday’s championship game that’s scheduled for 2 p.m.
Fortuna softball
Not all H-DNL teams had as good a fate as the Crusaders on Tuesday, with the Fortuna Huskies softball team bowing out of NCS play in the Division 4 semifinals in a 3-1 road loss to St. Helena.
Fortuna struck first in the third inning when junior Faith Helms scored to put Fortuna up 3-0 but St. Helena answered back with a run in the fourth before two more runs in the 5th inning from which Fortuna could not recover.
Fortuna sophom*ore Isabel Sanchez took the loss in the pitcher’s circle, going four innings allowing three runs before being relieved by junior Myra Hayes who threw the last two innings for the Huskies. The Huskies’ offense would total only four hits while racking up 13 strikeouts.
Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526.
