Prep Report: Baker girls rally twice, overcome North 5-4
With their softball season-long unbeaten streak at stake, the Ida Baker Bulldogs finally responded to the challenge posed by the North Fort Myers Red Knights.
Trailing for the first time in eight games, the Bulldogs rallied not once but twice to overcome two-run deficits in the final two innings to walk off the field a 5-4 winner in eight innings Thursday night.
The comebacks left Bulldogs coach Morgan Klare speechless.
“I don’t know what to say,” Klare said. “I still don’t believe we pulled it out.”
Senior Hannah Kelly came through when the Bulldogs needed it most, capping a three-run, eighth-inning rally with an RBI single to shallow center field. The clutch hit made Kelly 1-for-2 with the game-winning run in scoring position.
With junior Louie Ross in scoring position and two out in the eighth, Kelly’s hit set off a wild celebration as Ross crossed the plate.
An inning earlier, with runners at second and third and no outs, Kelly had a chance to drive in the tying and winning runs, but struck out for the first out of the inning. Sophomore Maddy Peres walked to load the bases. With the tying run 60 feet away, Jessica Nuccio popped up for the second out. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, senior Katie Rieser scored the tying run on a passed ball, setting the stage for the extra-inning heroics.
The Red Knights (6-3), who were limited to four hits by Peres, took a two-run lead in the top of the eighth. Their only hit of the inning was a leadoff single by Jasmine Santiago, who stole second and went to third on a passed ball.
Santiago scored on Paige Engh’s squeeze bunt with Allie Kennedy, who got on with a one-out walk, moving up to third base. The squeeze worked so well, the Red Knights did it again with Tori Fields dropping down the bunt to plate the second run. Amber Plaza bunted a line drive to Nuccio charging from first base to set off an inning-ending double play. Engh was caught trying to retreat to third base on the foiled squeeze play.
That proved costly when the Bulldogs (8-0) rallied in the bottom of the inning for the win.
“You have to give credit to their freshman (pitcher), who did a great job,” said Klare. “We were not making the adjustments to her slow pitches. We are used to faster pitches, but we had the heart when we had to.”
Sarah Waitekus (2-1) grudgingly gave up five hits in the first five innings, but the Bulldogs produced three hits in their eighth-inning rally against her. Overall, Waitekus, a left-hander, issued three walks, hit two batters and struck out one.
Peres (8-0) was not as sharp as she has been in recent outings, but still managed to strike out 13 while walking three. She had not allowed more than two runs in a game this season and owns five shutouts, including one perfect game.
“It’s the making of a good team when you can come back to win when you are not playing your best,” said Klare.
Katrissa Rowell had two of the Red Knights’ four hits and Kennedy drove in their first two runs with a no-out single to center.
Rieser and Kelly led the Bulldogs with three hits apiece while Ross had the game’s only extra-base hit.
Both teams return to the diamond Tuesday. North hosts Fort Myers and Baker visits Cape Coral.
North FM 000 002 02 – 4 4 3
Ida Baker 000 000 23 – 5 10 3
W – Peres (8-0). L – Waitekus.
2B – Ross (IB).
Baseball
Ida Baker 10, North Fort Myers 0: Junior Branden Gutierrez continued Ida Baker’s string of outstanding pitching performances, limiting North Fort Myers to two hits in a five-inning shutout victory.
Gutierrez (3-1) struck out four Red Knight batters to earn the win.
Juniors Michael Watson and Tyler Cardini combined for five of the Bulldogs’ 10 base hits to lead the offense. Cardini drove in two runs and Watson one.
The Bulldogs opened a three-run lead in the first inning followed by three scoreless frames before ending the game on the 10-run rule by scoring seven runs in the fifth. The Bulldogs took advantage of six walks in the inning scattered along with three base hits to score the seven runs.
The Bulldogs (6-5) visit Cape Coral Tuesday night for a District 4A-11 game.
North FM 000 00 – 0 2 1
Ida Baker 300 07 – 10 10 0
W – Gutierrez (3-1). L – Conger.