CASA GRANDE SOFTBALL: Casa girls can’t solve Rancho Cotate pitching ace

Rancho Cotate pitcher Brittany Scardina completely baffled opposing Casa Grande hitters and closed out the regular season with a three-hit shutout as the visiting Lady Cougars rolled to a 6-0 softball win Friday afternoon in Petaluma. The game was a make-up for a rain cancellation Thursday.

The rangy Scardina had the Lady Gauchos swinging late for most of the contest, and didn’t allow a solid hit until a fly ball by Christina Wilson fell in fair territory along the first-base line in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Only two scratch hits were allowed by the Rancho sophomore prior to the seventh frame. A pop-up off the bat of Kayleigh Hart that came into contact with the Rancho catcher and a ground ball that glanced off the glove of the second baseman by Lisa Nadell were the only previous safeties.

Scardina’s fastball, which was mostly low in the zone, overpowered Casa hitters on Senior Day, and the Lady Cougars went ahead for good with a two-run rally in the second inning. The game was quickly played in 70 minutes. Two Casa runners reached third base, in the first and third frames, and Scardina struck out four batters in the last three innings.

“She is about as good as any pitchers that our girls have faced this season,” said Gaucho first base coach Bob Ausiello. “The girl at Redwood was very good at the beginning of the season and the pitcher at Santa Rosa was also strong. This girl was overpowering today.”

It was the 14th win of the season for the hard-throwing right hander, who reduced her earned run average to an impressive 0.84 for the season. Rancho improved to 18-6 overall and 10-4 for a second-place finish in the North Bay League.

Three Casa Grande pitchers hurled the final game of the season for the Lady Gauchos. Senior Shelby Foakes started the contest. She was followed to the slab by Brookelynne Hale and Hart. Hart was the only pitcher to hold the Cougars scoreless on the afternoon.

Carolina Camacho finished with three hits to pace the 13-hit attack by the Cougars.

Rancho might have done more damage if it were not for two nice plays in the outfield by Alauna Rico and Emma Dennett of the Lady Gauchos. Both outfielders combined a good catch with one-bounce throws to the plate to deny Rancho Cotate a run.

Rancho moves forward to the North Bay League end-of-the-season tournament, where the Cougars might meet NBL champion Ukiah for the third time. The two teams played a couple of tight games in league play.

“We have to be more aggressive when we play them again,” said Cougar coach Tracey Guerrero. “The girls have to attack with the bats.”

Casa Grande fell to 4-10 in NBL play for the season. Coach Joanna Martin’s team dropped below the .500 mark on the season for the first time at 11-12.

Earlier in the week, a Casa Grande rally stalled two runs short in a 7-5 loss to Cardinal Newman in a game played in Santa Rosa.

Casa’s Lady Gauchos led 2-0 until Cardinal Newman rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Four more Newman runs in the last of the sixth gave the Lady Cardinals a 7-2 lead, and apparently put the game away.

However, Casa Grande attacked for three runs in the top of the seventh to make things exciting.

Alauna Rico, Nadell and Sammy Sievers each had two hits for the Lady Gauchos, with Rico belting a double.