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Carson City-Crystal’s Haeven Clark (12) fields a ground ball and looks to throw to first base in game one of their doubleheader at Belding on Wednesday. — DN Photo | Meghan Tripp
BELDING — Last year’s Carson City-Crystal softball team set the school record for most wins in a season.
Now, they’re one step closer to breaking that record.
The Eagles (21-11 overall) were hoping to bounce back after being swept by Sacred Heart last Friday night, adding two back to the win column after defeating Montabella on Tuesday night.
They traveled to Belding on Wednesday afternoon to take on the Black Knights (6-20 overall) looking to tie their record of 21 wins for most wins in a season.
Quick baserunning and electric bats made for an exciting afternoon for the Eagles as they took both games from Belding, 16-0 and 18-1.
Eagles head coach Krista Shepard said hitting the ball has been their best strategy at this point in the season.
“We just need to keep hitting the ball,” Shepard said. “We’ve had some moments of not hitting as well as I know we’re capable of. Sometimes, we hit differently in practice than we do in games and we’re just trying to string something together.”
The Black Knights have made some improvements this season not far removed from not fielding a team a couple of years ago, having already accumulated two more wins than last season. Head coach Greg Foster is proud of what’s been accomplished in the last two seasons.
“We’re a new program,” Foster said. “There’s so many kids still just learning the basics of the game. We’ve already won two more games this year than last year and that was kind of the goal for us. We just try to take a couple of steps forward for every game. That’s what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to get better.”
The Eagles have recently rewritten the history books based on their successes the last two years. Having tied last year’s record with their two wins Wednesday night, senior and team captain Haeven Clark is happy to be a part of that history.
“It’s really cool,” Clark said. “Even just knowing I get to do it with my sister (Haedee Clark), that’s really cool to be a part of that history and do it as a family.”
Game 1: Carson City-Crystal 16, Belding 0
The Eagles carried their dominating energy from Tuesday night into game one with the Black Knights. An explosive first inning gave the Eagles the confidence they needed to take the game and run with it, scoring 10 of their 16 runs in that inning alone.
The pacing slowed just a tad in the second and third inning as they added another four and two runs respectively, ending the game in three short innings.
Alexia Tamez pitched for the Black Knights, tallying four strikeouts. Haven Reeder got the win in the circle, pitching one strikeout across the 10 batters faced, surrendering no hits and no runs.
Shepard said putting all of the pieces together helps set them up for successful performances.
“We’re in a good place,” Shepard said. “I think my pitchers are doing pretty good. We have great hitters, we just have to make sure we’re putting things together every game. That’s my plan. Today, defensively we looked pretty good. Some days, we have some spots where that timidness comes through. I’m trying to minimize that and tell them to just go with it and see what happens.”
Wednesday’s meetings marked the final home game for the Black Knights this season. Even though the score was opposite of their favor, Foster looks forward to what the future holds for Belding softball.
“There’s some girls with some really good attitudes,” Foster said. “They’re still learning, but that’s what excites me. They’re willing to come in and put in the work. That’s what we’re going to give them the opportunity to do this summer and fall.”
Game 2: Carson City-Crystal 18, Belding 1
Calli Heleski got the scoring started for the Eagles in the first inning, crossing home plate because of a passed ball. The Eagles would then go on to score three more runs before the inning was through.
The Eagles had themselves yet another 10-run inning in the second inning, putting them up 14.
The Black Knights found themselves a scoring opportunity in the same inning and ran with it as Moe Collins singled on a hard ground ball to center field, scoring Elizabeth Wilson and their first run of the afternoon.
Despite their best efforts, the Black Knights couldn’t keep up with the Eagles as they went on to add four more runs in the top of the third, sealing the game.
Clark held down the fort for the Eagles in the circle, pitching three strikeouts for the day.
“I felt pretty confident,” Clark said. “I don’t think I was very sore from yesterday when we played Montabella because we didn’t throw as much.”
“I felt confident because we already played Belding in a tournament, so I knew we could do it against them today,” sophomore and catcher Haedee Clark said.
Now that they’ve tied last season’s record, the Eagles look ahead to playing their future opponents in hopes to surpass that number, especially with district play right around the corner.
“We have two more regular season games,” Shepard said. “I really want to get at least one more. Districts is going to be tough. We got a team that went to the quarterfinals last year and we got another team that’s been in the running in past years. We have some tough teams in there to play, but I don’t think we’re out of it. I think we can play with them and I think we can beat them.”
As the season slowly comes to a close, Shepard looks forward to seeing her team bond together and cheer each other on.
“As a team, I think we played together,” Shepard said. “I think we’re cheering for each other. We have each other’s backs all the time. It doesn’t matter if they’re friends out of this field or on this field, they’ve been so incredibly supportive and awesome all year.”
