CARDS ADVANCE, BEAT ULHS 8-2
Not even grand slam-saving catch can save Cougars in sectional quarterfinal round
LAKEPORT >> Despite the best efforts of Upper Lake High School center fielder Tristin Rhodes, the Clear Lake Cardinals are headed to the North Coast Section Division 5 softball semifinals after beating the Cougars 8-2 in a fairly tense quarterfinalround battle Friday afternoon in Lakeport.
The Cardinals (16-7) advance to the semifinals Tuesday against St. Helena (16-7) at St. Helena High School. First pitch is 7 p.m. St. Helena shut out South Fork 2-0 on Saturday night in St. Helena.
Clear Lake pulled away late against Upper Lake (11-8), snapping a 2-all tie with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, and putting the final touches on their victory in the sixth when Hailee Bussard clubbed a line drive home run to left field, a two-run shot.
Bussard just missed a grand slam in her previous bat, hitting a high flyball into deep center field where the 5-foot-4 Rhodes, her back pressed up against the fence, reached as high as she could and pulled the ball back into the field of play at the last second to end the bottom of the fourth. It was easily the defensive play of the game, perhaps the year.
“She told me she didn't know if she could reach it,” Upper Lake head coach Nick Williamson said of Rhodes' catch after talking to her about the play in the dugout. “It was a great inspirational play. It kept us in the game.
“She's been a stud for us all season. She's one of the hardest workers on the team,” he said of the junior.
“Their center fielder kept them in the game,” Clear Lake assistant coach Phil Psalmonds said of Rhodes' solid work in center field where she handled
all four of her chances cleanly, and two others, not counting the catch she made against Bussard, were tough plays.
Rhodes also had one of eight Upper Lake hits as the Cougars (11-8) out-hit the Cardinals