K-ait, Carly and Cats Down Otto-Eldred To Claim Second Place District Nine; Lady Cats Move On To States (06/01/19)

(Photo by Kim Constantino) Lady Cats 2nd Place District Nine, Class-A

With a masterful performance by Kait Constantino, in the circle, solid defense, timely hitting and good base running, the Clarion Area Lady Cats Softball Team shut out Otto-Eldred, 4-0, in the District Nine Class-A game for true second, Saturday, June 1st at Heindl Field in DuBois.

With the win, the District 9 number 2 team will face District 10 Champion, Commodore Perry, at 12:30 PM, Monday (June 3rd) at Slippery Rock University, in a PIAA State Championship first round game.

How domininant was Kait? She threw two strikeouts to end the first. She struck out the side in both the second and third innings (eight in a row). She had two Ks in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and two more in the seventh, a total of fifteen for the game. She allowed only two singles, one in the fourth and another in the seventh, while giving up no walks.

And when the the ball was put in play, the Cats came up big on defense, so that the Terrors never really threatened. Kait even got an assist on a strikeout, in the last inning, as the first Otto-Eldred batter had a foul tip on strike three, that catcher Jordan Best held.

The Cats first struck in the top of the third, with some two out lightning. Carly best had a single to right and stole second. Then Brenna Campbell tripled down the right field line, driving in Best, with what proved to be the winning run.

Carly Best singled in the fifth and was driven in by sister Jordan Best, giving the Cats a 3-0 lead.

Clarion added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh, as Carly led off with a bunt single. She stole second. And with one out, Jordan had a stand-up triple to drive her in. The next batter Tory Vega put the ball in play, on a sacrifice to score Jordan Best setting the final at 4-0.

Coach Shofestall had this to say after the game, “It was a tough game. Kaitlyn was strong. We played good defense behind her and got some timely hitting there at the end. We had some good base running which helped.

“We’re just happy with this group of kids, what they’ve done this year, how they’ve worked from day one. How they’ve improved; how they’ve believed; how they believe in each other. That’s the key. The good chemistry we have really helps. You don’t get as far as we’re going now without good chemistry. I’ve always believed that.

“We don’t have a lot of kids. But like I tell everybody, we have the right kids here that are working hard every day.

“I’m just happy for the kids and their parents. Parents are a big part of this. They come and support us. They do a great job in that. We see a lot of the value of these kids in the field, that these parents have instilled in them. I think that is a big part of our kids being successful, because of their parents.”

Congratulations Lady Cats!!!! Great team effort! Great All-Round game!!!!

Beat Commodore Perry!!!!

(Thanks to Kim Constantino for the photo.)