REDWOOD CITY, CA - The big inning -- offenses yearn for it; defenses try to avoid it.
Carlmont got one Saturday in the CCS quarterfinals to defeat Milpitas 9-4 at Hawes Park. The Scots now advance to the semifinals where they will meet Wilcox at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, again at Hawes Park.
It was a six-run third inning that sank Milpitas.
With no runners on and two outs, Christy Peterson started off the second inning for the Scots with a line drive double to left field. Peterson stole third and then scored on a passed ball.
"We came out really strong from the first inning,” said Kirra Loucks. “We hit well, and Rebecca pitched very [well].”
The Scots increased the pressure in the third inning. After a solid double play by Peterson and Mariko Kondo, the Scots were full of energy going up to bat.
Loucks led off with walk. Jacey Phipps brought Loucks in with a pop to short, which was dropped and gave Phipps the extra base. With two runners on, Rebecca Faulkner hit a three-run home run over the fence in left-center field. Gabriella Pons kept the streak alive with another home run over the fence in center field, increasing Carlmont's lead to 6-0.
“Our hitting came out strong,” said Peterson.
The Trojans responded with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Shaye Felix led off with a solid base hit down the first base line, and was brought in on an RBI sinlge to left field by Sarina Bolden.
Even with the Trojans' tight defense, the Scots wouldn't back down. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with two runners on and no outs, Missy Pekarek hit a grounder to the pitcher, who got the out at first. The first baseman made an error, allowing Danielle Giulliaci and Loucks to score.
"I think we did extremely well,” said Peterson. “We came in very pumped. We wanted to win, and we were very excited [to get the win].”
The Scots let their guard down in the top of the seventh inning, allowing the Trojans to score three runs on errors at first and at the plate. Even with the miscues, the Scots stayed safely in the lead.
“I was disappointed we let [our guard down] a little bit at the end,” said Carlmont head coach Jim Liggett. “Milpitas is a good team, and it [felt good to] come out with a win.”
