Gilroy
– St. Francis coach Kathy Lincoln claims her pitcher, Laurel
Thompson, was a little frustrated because she wasn’t get calls on
the outside corner.
Gilroy – St. Francis coach Kathy Lincoln claims her pitcher, Laurel Thompson, was a little frustrated because she wasn’t get calls on the outside corner.
Imagine how Gilroy felt about its inability to catch up to the sophomore right-hander.
Thompson tossed a three-hitter and posted her third shutout of the season as the Lancers handed the Mustangs their first loss, 1-0.
It was the first run allowed by Gilroy pitching in 18 2/3 innings when St. Francis scored in the fourth.
The Lancers (3-2) bunched together three hits, but Patty Olvera nearly pitched out of trouble as she had done in the second when St. Francis loaded the bases. Kelly Norris hit a leadoff double and went to third on Ally Reidy’s single. Reidy then stole second. Olvera induced a pop out and got her fifth strikeout before Deanna Albiani delivered with an RBI single to center.
Other than that, it was Thompson’s show. She used an effective fastball with movement to keep Gilroy hitters off-balance.
“We work a lot on placement,” Lincoln said. “(Thompson) was a little frustrated in not getting the outside corner. But she’s proven to me that it takes a lot to get her out of her game. I was happy with the way some of our girls used the whole at-bat to make them throw more pitches.”
The Mustangs (3-1) had a golden opportunity in the first inning when they got the first two hitters on and yet went three-up, three-down. Lauryn Chris started it with a walk and Kylie Herrada bunted for a base hit. The two attempted a double steal with Chris being thrown out at third. Then Amanda Tellez’s line drive out was turned into a double play.
The only other hits for Gilroy were Caitlyn Pierotti’s second-inning single and pinch-hitter Alicia Reese’s seventh-inning leadoff single.
“We were a little flat today and it showed,” GHS coach Catherine Hallada said. “Still, we hung in there and our defense was good.”
Olvera and reliever Melinda Ortiz combined for 10 strikeouts for Gilroy, which has yielded just two runs in four games.
The Mustangs have their fourth game in four days at 7pm today when they face El Camino in the opening round of the Circle of Champions in Salinas.
St. Francis 000 100 0 – 1 7 2
Gilroy 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
Thompson and Luders; Olvera, Ortiz (6) and Pierotti. L-Olvera. 2B-SF, Norris.
