In an early morning softball game in Petaluma, St. Vincent de Paul was able to take down Credo with an impressive 11-4 victory.
“I’m very proud of the girls for being able to come out swinging today,” St. Vincent de Paul head coach Morgan Selmi said. “We wanted to come out and beat Credo since they beat us earlier this season in the Cloverdale tournament.”
Credo defeated St. Vincent de Paul in the Cloverdale tournament earlier this season in a nail-biting 10-9 game. However, the Mustangs were without their ace pitcher, senior Sophia Skubic for the entirety of the tournament.
Credo took a first inning 1-0 lead on a St. Vincent de Paul error. The Mustangs responded by scoring a run of their own. Triples from both juniors Sophia Romano and Vanessa Rios helped lead them to score three runs in the second, and the Mustangs never lost the lead after that.
Skubic pitched very well in Saturday’s win. She pitched all seven innings, struck out seven batters, and did not allow an earned run. She also recorded a hit and an RBI at the plate.
Credo used two pitchers – Hailey Ray and Savannah Beament. Ray pitched the first four innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out six batters. Beament pitched the final two innings. She allowed two earned runs and struck out two batters.
“Today’s game was very fun. The girls had my back in the field and at the plate,” Skubic said. “I’m so glad we could come back and beat Credo a second time around.”
Credo scored three runs in the sixth to cut the St. Vincent de Paul lead to just 6-4, but the host Mustangs remained clutch under pressure. They scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to various Credo errors and pitchers falling behind in counts.
Freshman Maddy Rynning and Rios both reached base on errors which brought in a run. Skubic drove in Rios on an RBI single. Freshman Illiana Jimenez, who came in to play second base due to an injury, hit a line drive up the middle to score Skubic.
In the contest, St. Vincent de Paul senior Maddy Delamontanya recorded two hits, junior Katarina Cespedes had a two-run single, and senior Maddy Badaglia recorded two hits. Credo’s best offensive player was Savannah Beament. She recorded two out of her team’s seven hits and the lone Credo RBI.
The win bumped St. Vincent de Paul’s record to 8-5 overall, and 4-0 in the North Bay - Redwood league.
The Mustangs have two upcoming league games. They will face off against Santa Rosa on Tuesday, who the Mustangs have already beaten earlier in the season 4-3. They'll host Piner on Thursday, who they also have already beaten 6-5.
“Next week should be a hard week with Santa Rosa and Piner,” Skubic said. “Hopefully we can play like we did today and keep our undefeated league status.”
The loss dropped Credo’s record down to 2-3. Credo does not have another game until April 15th, where they will be hosting Technology.
