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Sheldon runs off with rout
The Huskies, ranked second in the country, soundly beat Pleasant Grove in softball.
By Quwan Spears - qspears@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, April 11, 2008
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C8
Bryan Patrick / Sacramento Bee Aleisha Brown (5) and her Sheldon softball teammates dealt a blow to third baseman Brianna Jacoby-Jordan and Pleasant Grove on Thursday.
After further review, the Sheldon High School softball team was downgraded from No. 1 to No. 2 in the national rankings earlier this week. Still, that didn't prevent the host Huskies from playing like the top-ranked team in the country Thursday against Delta River League rival Pleasant Grove.
Taking advantage of Eagles errors, the Huskies, ranked first in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and in the Sacramento area by The Bee, cruised to a 7-1 victory.
No explanation was given for Sheldon's demotion in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association weekly Top 25 poll. But Huskies coach Mary Jo Truesdale said she understood it: The Huskies lost 1-0 to the new No. 1 team, Pembroke Pines Charter of Florida, in the final of the prestigious Nike Faster to First tournament March 15 in Huntington Beach. The Jaguars (23-0) previously were ranked 12th.
"They beat us earlier in the season. Plus, they played more games and are undefeated," Truesdale said of the Jaguars' rise.
Unable to control the events in the national poll, the Huskies (17-1, 2-0) focused on their first-place showdown against the Eagles (12-4, 1-1), ranked third by The Bee.
With another solid performance by junior pitcher Jolene Henderson, the Huskies dominated and won their 11th consecutive game. Henderson, The Bee's 2007 All-Metro Player of the Year, pitched a two-hitter and struck out 13.
"The plan was to work the count early and see what pitches they liked to hit," Henderson (16-1) said. "Once discovered what they like, we made the adjustment."
At the plate, Lindsey Ziegenhirt was 3 for 4 with two doubles for Sheldon, and Cheyenne Cathey hit a two-run single in the fifth.
The Huskies also were opportunistic. They broke the game open in the fourth, scoring three runs on a hit and an error by the Eagles' Kirsten Willmon. Normally a reliable second baseman, Willmon dropped a potential inning-ending pop fly by Morgan Otto and allowed two runs.
"We gave up five unearned runs," Eagles coach JT Tiumalu said. "But no excuses. We got beat by a better team. You can't make mistakes against a good team like Sheldon."
Correction: You can't do that against a Huskies team regardless if it's ranked No. 1 or No. 2.
About the writer:
- Call The Bee's Quwan Spears, (916) 326-5517.
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