South perfect against Gilroy 11-12 All-Star Team in Oregon
One small slip turned into a big slip.
And before the Gilroy All-Stars knew it, they were in too deep of a hole in their Little League Softball World Series opener with South representative Morristown, Tenn.
In the first at-bat of the game Thursday, lead-off hitter and center fielder Casey Lester connected with a pitch from South hurler Mallory Black for a would-be hit. But coming out of the muddy batter’s box, Lester slipped and twisted an ankle. She would eventually leave the game.
“You could say it started out on the wrong foot right from the first batter,” said Gilroy manager Gene Carlisle. “It was a bad game.”
The South held West representative Gilroy to no runs in a resounding 9-0 win at Alpenrose Stadium in Portland, Ore. Gilroy, which also opened last year’s World Series with a loss to the South, drops to 0-1 in Pool A and will take on Asia Pacific today at 5pm.
“When you get to this level, the girls have to play their top level stuff game in and game out,” Carlisle said.
But Gilroy didn’t bring its ‘A’ game Thursday. Gilroy made five errors in the game while the South played errorless ball.
Starting in the circle for Gilroy was Sam Parraz, whom Carlisle said was battling some respiratory problems. Later in the game, Parraz, then at first base, would have to leave the after straining a hamstring while stretching to catch a throw.
“All of that compounds and affects the girls,” Carlisle said of the errors, injuries and all-around adversities Gilroy faced in the game. And while Gilroy struggled, the South had everything going its way.
The Tennessee team delivered the biggest blow in the bottom of the third by scoring seven runs.
The South’s Kendi King hit an RBI triple to make it 1-0. After the next two batters were hit by pitch and walked, Sarah Collins made it 3-0 with a two-run single. The South hitters batted around and King returned the plate to single home the seventh South run later in the inning. After the third, Carlisle pulled Parraz (6 runs,five hits, 3 earned runs, 2 K’s) and brought in Stephanie Rodriquez, who pitched the remaining three innings, allowing three hits and three runs.
Meanwhile on offense, Gilroy could not penetrate the South’s defensive wall or hit ace pitcher Black (6 innings, 10 strikeouts).
“They are the absolute best we have faced and with that pitcher they are tough to beat,” Carlisle said. “They did very well. They backed their pitcher up and made some great defensive plays.”
Both Lester and Parraz will be reevaluated today and whether they are healthy enough to play or not will be a game-time decision.
Carlisle said the team will meet this morning and try to forget about the loss and concentrate on today’s game with Asia Pacific.
“They’ve got to let this one go,” he said.
South (Morristown, Tenn.) 9, Gilroy 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Gilroy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
South 0 0 7 2 0 0 9 8 0
Gilroy (0-1), South (1-0)
Up Next: vs. Asia Pacific, today, 5pm
