Brooklynn Robertson of Kern Valley puts a charge in the ball against Bishop. This hit went for a triple. Photo by Kayley Sietsma
By Ray Conner
The varsity Lady Broncs came into the game with a six-game winning streak in league action. The Kern Valley offense was unable to mount any pressure and the Lady Ravens took advantage to tie the HDL standings at the top. The final score was 5-1 for Cal City.
Both teams are 7-1 (this included the win over Bishop for Kern Valley). And they have a two-game lead over Bishop with six games remaining. If the standings stay this way, an HDL champion will be decided when these two teams meet in May.
In the contest with the Lady Ravens, Kern Valley was limited to just five hits. They were unable to catch up the Cal City pitcher who struck them out 13 times. Trailing 2-0, they scored their lone run in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Ava Bates singled. Kayley Sietsma reached on a fielder’s choice and an error sent Bates to third. She came around to score on another throwing error to give Kern Valley the run. The Lady Broncs bats went quiet the rest of the way and the game went to Cal City.
Two Kern Valley players combined to collect the five hits. Bates delivered three of the hits and scored the run. Leenah Troller had the other two hit for the Lady Broncs.
In the circle, Audrey Martinez took the loss for Kern Valley. She allowed the five runs on eight hits. She walked six and struck out six in picking up the loss.
Three days later, the offense went wild as they overcame the lackluster performance earlier in the week. They traveled to Bishop and came home with the 16-6 victory and started a new streak.
The runs came in bunches as the Lady Broncs scored five in the second to put the score at 5-1. After Bishop tied the score at 5-5, Kern Valley sent 12 batters to the plate to tally six times and make it 11-5. They took control firmly after this and added seven more runs in the top of the fifth inning.
As a team, Kern Valley banged out 18 hits, including five that went for extra bases. They combined to swipe 15 bases that helped the offense put runs on the board. The team was led by Brooklynn Robertson with four hits, including a triple. She would knock in two runs. Samantha Wyly contributed four hits, including a triple, while Kayley Sietsma had a pair of hits, including a triple. Kayley Sietsma would drive home three runs in the contest. Elli Jeans added two hits, including a double to plate one run. Hailee Kopperman had two hits and two RBIs. Ava Rementegui smacked a double and was credited with one RBI, while Troller had one hit and one RBI. Kassidy Sietsma and Martinez each had one hit to finish off the hit parade for the Lady Broncs. Ava Bates recorded an RBI in the game.
On the bases, Robertson ran wild as she was credited with five stolen bases. Wyly and Kassidy Sietsma each swiped two in the game. Emily Warnock, Ava Elliott, Bates, Troller, Martinez, and Kopperman recorded one steal apiece.
Martinez picked up the pitching victory as she went four and two-third innings. She gave up the six runs, only five earned on nine hits. She walked one and struck out three.
The Lady Broncs were on the road in Mammoth on Tuesday and will be at home on Friday when they play Boron.
