Marysville loses twice to miss out on title game

Marysville High’s softball team entered Wednesday riding a 13-game winning streak and needed just one more win to advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section championship game for the first time since winning the program’s only title in 2000.

Unfortunately for the fifth-seeded Indians, that victory never came.

Marysville suffered its first loss of the playoffs with a 9-3 setback to No. 6 Sierra of Manteca to fall into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament, and simply had nothing left in the tank in a 19-2 loss to No. 2-seeded Calaveras, putting an end to its season in the Division IV semifinals at the Arnaiz Softball Complex in Stockton.

The Indians came into the day without committing an error during three wins to open the playoffs, but that streak came to an end in the top of the fourth when they made two throwing errors on one play, allowing Sierra to score two unearned runs and open up a 3-0 lead.

Marysville tied it up in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run single off the bat of sophomore Veda Smith, but the Timberwolves answered with a three-run homer in the top of the fifth and added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh to pull away for good.

Freshman Madison Powell and sophomore Raina Hudson both singled to account for Marysville’s other two hits in that loss.

The second game didn’t go well from the start, as Calaveras jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first and never looked back in a contest that lasted only five innings.

Junior Hannah Clavelle went 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI, and Powell was 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI to lead the way for the Indians at the plate. Sophomore Josie Rapp and senior Emily Stobaugh added a single each.

Marysville ended the year 20-8 overall and won the Golden Empire League title with an 11-1 record with a team that featured three sophomores and four freshmen on the 13-player roster.

“I’m just really proud of them. This is the furthest any of my teams have ever gone in the playoffs,” said ninth-year Indians coach Maurice Clavelle, whose team will only graduate three seniors. “I didn’t expect to win league this year, and we’re still a very young team so things are looking good for Marysville softball in the future.”