Half Moon Bay reached the finals of the Central Coast Section Division III tournament with a pair of wins in contrasting styles. After defeating Carmel 4-1 Saturday despite being out-hit 11-4, the second-seeded Cougars (23-6) stormed into the finals with a 2-0 win over third-seeded Soquel behind a powerhouse performance from pitcher Lyndsay Klimenko.
Klimenko, who somehow managed to hold Carmel to just one run on 11 hits on Saturday, was overpowering against the Knights on Tuesday, striking out nine in firing a four-hit, complete-game shutout. She also drove in a run during Half Moon Bay's two-run third inning with a single to right field. The Cougars scored their other run on an RBI groundout by Harlee Donovan.
Saturday, Klimenko pitched out of trouble all afternoon to help her team reach the semifinals as Carmel put runners on base in every inning but the second. Once again, it was the third inning when Half Moon Bay's offense came to life, as the Cougars scored three in the frame to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Chandra Anderson had the key hit with a two-run single to right to knock home Amy Francis and Abbey Donovan.
Half Moon Bay awaits the winner of Wednesday's semifinal between top-seeded Santa Catalina (25-2) and fourth-seeded Notre Dame-Salinas (19-9) at PAL Stadium in San Jose (6 pm).
