H.S. Softball: Clearview gets bragging rights with rout of Lorain

LORAIN — The battle for softball supremacy in the city turned into a one-sided affair. Clearview led Lorain by only a run through three innings Friday, but the Clippers exploded for 12 more runs on nine hits and four Titans errors to post a 13-1 non-conference win. The Clippers are 4-1. "After a week of hitting, our bats got cold here in this game. Peighton (Heider) on the mound and our defense kept us in this game," Clippers coach Mark Majoras said. "That gave us a chance for our bats to wake up." When the lumber emerged from its slumber, it made a lot of noise vs. Titans starter Trinity Gunder. "That's a good pitcher," Majoras said. "We started to time her up and the bats exploded." Heider, a senior who had not played softball since eighth grade, allowed one earned run on just three hits without a walk. She struck out seven. "I try to not let the cold get to me, I just have to cancel it out," Heider said. "(Lorain) has some good hitters, but I had to work on my off-speed today and it worked out." Clearview opened the game with a one-out Jarimar Ruiz triple to the fence in the left-center, and she scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead that stayed that way going to the fourth. Gunder allowed baserunners in the second and third, but Lorain catcher Adianna Bucci helped quell any rally by throwing out a runner and starting a successful rundown by catching a runner off the bag at third. The Clippers finally got to Gunder in the fourth, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring four times on four hits. Three Lorain errors helped. Navaeh Berrios started the inning with a double, moved to third when Gracie Linger reached on an error and scored on a second error on the play. Hailey Parsons singled, Heider walked and Natali Trent sent two runners home with a single through the middle. Jocelyn Pallens added a run-scoring single. "My first at-bat was a walk and I was just feeling what (Gunder) was doing, making adjustments and timing her up," said Trent, who went 2-for-2 with four RBIs and a pair of stolen bases. The Titans (3-1) got their run in the bottom half of the fourth when Bucci was hit by a pitch, moved up on a fielder's choice and beat a great throw home from Adri Castro in center on a Gunder single to cut the lead to 5-1. Clearview put away the game in the next inning. It sent 13 batters to the plate for eight runs on five hits. Heider had a run-scoring single, Trent drove in two more runs with a triple to the fence in left-center, Pallens followed with a double, Ruiz walked and scored on the back end of a double steal and Berrios finished off the scoring with an RBI on an infield single. "One of the things I was worried about the team this year, the only returners we have this year are my pitcher, catcher and third base," Titans coach Pam Jackson said of Gunder, Bucci and Aolani Gonzalez. "We're working to find a home for a lot of different players. "We just don't have a lot of softball experience and we are constantly learning and reinforcing what they are doing. We just need to play more." Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.