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Raiders sweep ranked Clippers
Survive seventh inning rally in game two
WILLIAMSBURG — When Shannon Finn gets on base for the Raiders, good things tend to happen.
“When Shannon gets hot, the whole team gets going,” Williamsburg head coach Adam Berte said.
Finn, a senior and Kirkwood softball commit, bats leadoff and plays center field for the Raiders.
“It’s been an incredible season so far and career. I’m super blessed to be at Williamsburg and a part of this program,” Finn said.
In game one, Finn got on base in all three at-bats with two hits and one walk. Finn also got on base two of three at-bats in game two with a single and a walk.
After a few errors and a sacrifice bunt from Clear Creek Amana’s Kyla Schulte in the top of the first, it was 2-0 Clippers.
It was all Raiders after that in game one. They scored seven in the bottom of the first.
“We were able to find some gaps and capitalized on mistakes,” Berte said on game one.
RBI singles from Carly Rich and Taylor Sanchez started the scoring off.
A walk, two errors and a fielder’s choice RBI from Makenna Hughes scored the next five runs in the inning.
A sacrifice bunt from Jersey Metz and a catcher interference call brought two more runs in the second for the Raiders.
They added four more in the third to extend the big lead.
Sanchez hit the left center field gap and brought two runs in on a double, and two more scored off an error. Sanchez went 3-3 in the game with three RBIs.
Game one ended after five innings with a 13-2 final score.
The Raiders were battle tested in game two.
The Clippers had the bases loaded in the top of the first with no outs.
Sloane Curtin came in to pitch for the Raiders and after a double play fly out on the third base side by Hughes, Curtin forced a groundout getting out of the bases loaded jam unscathed.
Pitlick got the Raiders on the board first off a fielders choice RBI in the bottom of the first.
Much of the rest of the game was solid pitching and defense from both teams.
A sacrifice fly from Metz in the third and a sacrifice bunt from Alley Gorsh in the fifth brought in two more Raider runs.
A pivotal double play from Rich in the fifth off a hard line drive ended a potential scoring threat for the Clippers.
The Raiders ended the game with no errors and 21 putouts.
The Clippers finally capitalized in the seventh, scoring three runs.
The inning started with singles from Addesyn Campbell and Sadie Hebl.
Metz then came back in to pitch for the Raiders.
Schulte brought a run in off a hard hit, and Lizzie Pasbrig brought in two more off a double to tie it all up heading to the bottom of the inning.
Hughes started the inning with a single and worked around to third.
After a walk and strikeout, Pitlick came to the plate and hit a hard grounder to the pitcher, and Hughes slid into home and was safe.
The Raiders survived the seventh inning rally from the Clippers and advanced to 24-6 (17-2 in conference), inching closer to a WaMaC West Divisional title.
“We lost two games last week with seventh inning leads, so it was good to get this one,” Berte said.
“We had more chances to score and just couldn’t get the big hit to extend the lead.”
There is rarely an easy night in the WaMaC and the Raiders have been resilient in winning a lot of close games this season.
“Tonight was the summit of the team dynamic we’ve been building all season,” Finn said.
“We play for each other and these close games are good for us.”
The Raiders conclude regular season play Monday, July 8 against Cedar Rapids Prairie.
“Right now we’re confident and ready for what’s to come,” Finn said.
“We haven’t played our best ball yet,” Berte added.
