South High shuts out Broadalbin-Perth

By MIKE ZUMMO, The Leader-Herald
BROADALBIN – Going against a team like South Glens Falls, Broadalbin-Perth softball coach Garry Roorda was looking for moral victories.

He didn’t want his Lady Patriots to get no-hit by South High pitcher Marissa Carpenter. Jen Carter took care of that when she led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle.

He also wanted the game to go the full seven innings.

While his pitching tandem of Ashley Jordan and Jackie Szala were good enough to hold the defending New York State Class A champion Bulldogs under 15 runs, seven Broadalbin-Perth errors led to 11 unearned runs in South High’s 17-0 victory.

“They make every play look routine and we can’t give them any extra outs, which we did too many times today,” Roorda said. “They’re going to get their share of runs and their share of hits, but I would rather that we make them earn it.”

The Bulldogs (10-0 overall, 10-0 Foothills Council) scored their first two runs before the Lady Patriots even came to bat.

After Jordan retired Ali LaRue with the game’s first pitch, Alexis Wallace singled into the hole at shortstop. Amanda Perry followed with a line drive up the middle that skipped by Carter in center field and turned into a two-run home run.

In the second, two walks and Lauren Carruthers’ single off Jordan’s wrist, loaded the bases with nobody out. However, Jordan started to slide out of trouble by inducing LaRue to pop up and getting Wallace to ground into a fielder’s choice when Stephanie Wilcox’s throw forced Kelsey Fish at home.

Amanda Perry singled up the middle for her second hit, scoring Lauren Carruthers, but the relay throw cut down Lauren Blair at the plate to end the inning, limiting South Glens Falls to a 3-0 lead.

However, Broadalbin-Perth started to have some defensive trouble in the third. After errors and a stolen base put runners on second and third with nobody out, Alexa Toole singled up the middle, plating two unearned runs.

The Bulldogs loaded the bases on a single and two walks to start the fourth and Chelsea Carruthers drove in a run on a groundout. Toole delivered her second two-run single in as many innings before Fish lined into Morgan Sandmeier’s glove at shortstop and she doubled Toole off first base to end the inning.

The Bulldogs scored nine runs in the last two innings as they took advantage of the Lady Patriots’ defense.

Three errors in the fifth inning led to five runs after Jordan threw wide to third base on a two-out fielder’s choice, Carpenter made the Lady Patriots pay with a three-run triple and Chelsea Carruthers added an RBI single.

“I felt sorry for our pitchers because they made some good pitches and induced the ground ball that we needed, which would have gotten us out of innings and minimized the damage,” Roorda said. “It’s got to be frustrating for them to turn around and see the errors. But they held their composure and didn’t blame anybody.”

The Lady Patriots (6-5 overall, 6-3 Foothills Council) were able to get some decent swings off Carpenter and struck out only five times against a pitcher that averages double digits.

They also managed a base runner in the first four innings before Carpenter set down seven straight to end the game.

“I was actually happy with our offense,” Roorda said. “We made the girl work. We put the ball in play and we made their defense make plays. Then a little ‘at-em-itis’ set in. We hit the ball right at them. You feel snake-bit even with the errors and it just makes for a frustrating day.”



South Glens Falls 17, Broadalbin-Perth 0, 6 innings

South Glens Falls 212 354 – 17 14 1

Broadalbin-Perth 000 000 – 0 1 7

Carpenter and Perry; Jordan, Szala (5) and Bonneau