| Softeball's Battle of the Birds (3/08) | | Print | |
| Written by Tiffany Leung | |
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After sweeping through early season competition, the Cardinals came up just short against the Washington Eagles in the annual Battle of the Birds game on March 8. Right off the bat, the Eagles’ offense scored six runs off of starting pitcher sophomore Alina Werth during the first inning. The Cardinals desperately needed a turnaround to defend last year’s championship. “We had a rough start working out nerves in the beginning, but we shut them out in the next few innings,” coach Sascha Ray explained. The Cardinals had an opportunity to strike back in the second inning. Junior center fielder Sophia Chen began the rally with a single drive to center field, scoring freshman left fielder Chloe Roddy to start a three run inning that brought the score to 6-3. Building onto the momentum, Lowell picked up the heat and scored two in the third inning and six in the fourth inning, to build an 11-6 lead. “ Our team is full of strong hitters,” senior co-captain and third baseman Samia Zuber said. “Up and down the line up, we are not depending on one person.” During the next three innings, with solid defense and clear communication, the Cardinals shut down the Eagle’s offense. Senior first basemen Erika Bates was a vacuum, sucking up every ball hit to her. Unfortunately, good defense wasn’t enough to hold back the determined Eagles, who pushed through with a rally in the top of the seventh and scored six more runs. “The Eagles built up an overwhelming amount of momentum, and we let the last inning slip away,” senior second baseman Melissa Lee said. Zuber agreed. “I got to give it up to Wash,’ she said. “They were hitting!” The game’s final score was 12-11. The Cardinals’ loss to the Eagles came after back-to-back wins against ISA and Wallenberg. The girls hope to keep up that rhythm and not let this loss affect them too much. “We just have to work harder and prove not only to ourselves but everyone that we can beat the Eagles,” Zuber said. Ray isn’t worried about the team’s performance the next time the Cardinals face Washington which will be on April 7 at Lang Field. “We won’t change the game plan,” she said. “We played a better game but we were unable to close the game. We just need to work on mentality, out-planning them. We’ll get them back the next time we see them.” The Cardinals’ next game is at 3 p.m. on April 2 at West Sunset Park against the Wallenberg Bulldogs. |
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