Sobrato wasn’t able to keep the momentum going in its Blossom
Valley Athletic League game Wednesday against Branham, and yet
first-year coach Rob Piper likes what he sees.
Sobrato wasn’t able to keep the momentum going in its Blossom Valley Athletic League game Wednesday against Branham, and yet first-year coach Rob Piper likes what he sees.
The Bulldog pitchers suffered from wildness and the Bruins took advantage to nab an 11-6 win to hand Sobrato its first BVAL loss after two wins.
“It’s still going better than we thought,” Piper said. “We’ve won more games in league than we won overall in the last two years. We’re still stressing it’s not about wins and losses, and more about effort and attitude.”
And yet, the Bulldogs (3-6 overall) have reached a point where they believe they can win every time they step on the field, a far cry from last year when Sobrato would warm up in anonymity so as not to tip opponents to their beginner’s status.
Branham (4-9overall, 3-0 BVAL) collected just five hits, two by Angela Hays, but took advantage of 11 walks. The game was close for four innings with Branham holding a 2-1 lead before Branham used a seven-run fifth to pull away. Audrea Lopez homered for the Bruins, who got four-hit pitching from Kristin Davis. Danielle Clampett had an RBI hit for the Bulldogs.
“One thing the girls have learned through the season is that we can play with anybody,” Piper said. “We’re not intimidated by any team. They have a feeling we can win if we play our best.”
Defensively, Piper was pleased with the play of the left side of the infield, shortstop Brittany Vandegriff and third baseman Frankie Kellett.
“We want the feeling we can win every game or at least be in them,” Piper said. “It’s nice to see that the girls will say after the game that we should have won, that they’re not being satisfied just to keep it close. They really believe they can beat teams in this league.”
Next up is another tough test for the Bulldogs, who are at Santa Teresa at 3:30pm Tuesday.
