By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (March 24, 2017) — No.10 Stephenville made big plays defensively to keep Godley scoreless early, and delivered from the plate to pull away late.
Nadine Arredondo homered twice and the No. 10 Honeybees (18-3, 5-0) knocked off Godley (15-7-1, 3-2) 10-1 Friday evening at McClesky Field.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth that Stephenville got on the board first when Arredondo lifted a solo shot over the wall in left field off Godley star pitcher Abby Reeves, who struck out 11 of the first 12 batters she faced but only had two strikeouts the rest of the night.
Stephenville won its sixth straight and handed Godley its second loss in 8-4A, leaving Alvarado, who the Bees beat 13-3 on Tuesday, alone in second in the district standings. Stephenville hosts Life Waxahachie at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Stephenville made two huge plays defensively to keep Godley from getting any momentum. The Lady Cats actually doubled twice in the first inning without scoring because they tried to stretch the first double into a triple but were gunned down at third base. Morgan DiCiccio fielded the hit in center field, hit second baseman Kennedy Richards, and Richards relayed onto Arredondo in time for her to tag out the runner at third.
Junior pitcher Julia Flores took control after the first, then got a little more help from her defense in the top of the fifth. After the first Arredondo homer, a solo shot to left, gave Flores and the Bees a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Cats threatened with runners at second and first in the fifth. But a laser to right – one that appeared headed for the corner for at least an RBI double – was snagged by Jessica Howell, who then fired to Samantha Luna at first to double up the runner for an inning-ending double play.
“On the (first double in the first), it was a good shot, but we had a perfect relay and we nailed her at third and I really thought that set the tone defensively for the game,” said Stephenville head coach Rus Mayes. “The double-up on the laser to right field, that’s a momentum changer. I thought that was a spark that got our bats going as well, and sometimes a spark is all it takes with a lineup like ours. We just have to get it started and…depth prevails again.”
Then, as they always seem to eventually do with this deep Stephenville lineup – the flood gates finally opened.
DiCiccio used an RBI single to plate Sami Shaffer before a wild pitch and throwing error brought in two more runs. Flores then helped her own winning effort in the circle by driving an RBI triple to the fence in right, making it 5-0. Arredondo followed with a sky-high fly ball that cleared the fence by about a foot in left for her second home run and a 7-0 advantage. The senior slugger has a school-record nine homers on the season.
Godley cut it to 7-1 with its only run in the top of the sixth, but Shaffer unloaded a triple to right before scoring on a passed ball in the bottom of the inning. A bunt by Madison Gilder produced an overthrow at first that allowed the final two runs to score, and Flores shut down the Lady Cats again in the seventh.
Both teams had just five hits, including Arredondo’s two homers and the triple by Flores for Stephenville and three doubles by Godley – two of them by pitcher Abby Reeves and one by sister Tana Reeves. The difference – Stephenville worked for six walks off Reeves, while Flores didn’t issue a single base on balls. Chelsea Rios had the only RBI for Godley on an infield groundout after Stephenville had already built a commanding 7-0 lead.
Arredondo was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI on her two home runs, while DiCiccio was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Flores was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run.
Reeves was 2-for-3 with the only run for Godley. The NCAA Division II East Central University (Okla.) signee struck out the first eight batters she faced before Luna reached for Stephenville. Reeves then struck out the next three before the big bats began to wear on her and the Godley defense. Reeves, who amassed 132 pitches, struck out 20 Stephenville hitters in a game last year only for the Bees to win 3-2.
“The first time through our lineup she kept us off balance,” said Mayes. “But our hitters do a good job of adjusting and they eventually get on it.”
Flores needed 99 pitches to go the distance yet again for the Honeybees. She struck out four.
Godley is coached by Brynn Kamenicky, who starred as a catcher at Tarleton State University when Mayes was assistant coach there more than a decade ago. Kamenicky has even run high school softball camps at Stephenville for Mayes in past summers.
Be the first to comment