Pintos rally for late win over Blair Oaks

<p>Democrat photo/Kevin Labotka</p><p>Lauren Hill slides across home plate in the sixth inning of the Pintos’ 2-1 win over Blair Oaks on Sept. 29.</p>

Democrat photo/Kevin Labotka

Lauren Hill slides across home plate in the sixth inning of the Pintos’ 2-1 win over Blair Oaks on Sept. 29.

The California Pintos (13-4) came from behind Sept. 29 as they rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning to edge past the Blair Oaks Falcons (14-4) 2-1.

In what was a low-scoring pitchers duel, the Pintos came out on top after trailing 1-0, after Blair Oaks scored its lone run in the top of the fourth inning.

Head coach Steven Stock said a win like this one shows the players that they belong with the top teams.

“We have not really had a game where that was something we could find out and we were anxious to play Blair Oaks for that reason; to find out where we were,” Stock said. “Winning this (game) was a great win and it puts us in the top of the conference but now we have to continue. It is a great win today, but if we don’t take care of business then that great win becomes just another win. So it helps tell the girls that it’s justified that we are pretty good.”

After three scoreless innings, Blair Oaks took the lead in the top of the fourth, as the Falcons had runners on second and third with one out. Blair Oaks scored on a base hit, but the runner from second also tried to score and was tagged out at home plate to keep it a 1-0 scoreline.

In the bottom of the sixth inning with one out, Camryn Schlup forced a walk and the Pintos were in business after a single by Ellie Clay gave them runners on second and first. A fielder’s choice resulted in runners on the corners with two outs for Ella Percival, who hit a single into left field to tie the game at 1-1. The next Pintos’ batter, Kaylena Riggs, also got hit on the first pitch of the at-bat to give California the lead.

Stock said the team was able to execute with its runners on base in that inning.

“Simply put, we got a couple of girls on base early and (were) able to execute, made some adjustments at the plate and finally got a couple of balls hit that found holes,” Stock said.

Getting runs late in the game is huge for the team, Stock said.

“We knew coming in that we had to pitch well and we had to play defense well and try to find a way to score a couple of runs,” Stock said. “When you are playing a team like Blair Oaks, with the pitchers that they have and facing that kind of team with that kind of pitching, we have to do the little things and that is what we did and it let us get a win.”

In the top of the seventh, Blair Oaks got a runner on base after a slow ground ball resulted in a hit. The possible tying run advanced to second with one out in the inning, but Schlup struck out the last two batters to win the game.

California scored two runs on five hits and had two errors in the game, and Blair Oaks scored one run on four hits and had no errors in the game. Ella Percival and Kaylena Riggs led the Pintos with one RBI each. Riggs also led the team with two hits. Camryn Schlup struck out five batters in the seven innings she pitched for the Pintos.

The team’s next game is at 5 p.m. Oct. 8 at Hallsville.