Seven Cleveland errors were the chief cause of the 11-0 loss and Stobert said the fixable mistakes are more a matter of mind than matter.
“We had seven errors. I keep telling them if we can make routine plays, we are going to be a good ball club. They are fixable things,” Stobert said.
“I don’t think they were intimidated because it was Soddy. They didn’t come out defeated like they have in the past. I think once they got down, they just got down. They haven’t matured enough to get themselves out of that. They are going to have to mature quickly. The potential is there.”
The Lady Trojans picked up six runs against starting pitcher Mikaela Clements who was pulled by Stobert in favor of Carly Frost in the third.
Soddy manufactured two more runs in the fourth, one in the six and another in the seventh and totaled seven hits for the game, only one more than the Lady Raiders.
Cleveland’s lone score came in the bottom half of the sixth when Jacora Parker singled and later scored on Frost’s third hit of the game. The freshman pitcher outfielder is a perfect 6-for-6 in her first two games.
“She’s done very well. She is one of my top ones right now,” Stobert said of her rookie star.
The Lady Raiders just missed an opportunity in the fourth when Frost singled and headed home one batter later on a double off the bat of Abi Dye. But a perfect throw from left field nailed a sliding Frost and erased the run.
Despite the seven miscues, the Lady Raiders showed flashes of solid defense. After three straight Trojan hits and two runs in the top of the third, Lady Raiders’ first baseman Jasmine Martin threw water on the Soddy fire with a dazzling stop of a bullet to first and a tag of the runner for the first out. From there a ground ball to short and a strikeout by Frost ended the inning without further damage.
Cleveland will have a chance in this weekend’s Lady Raider Classic to get in needed work in the field and batter’s box without the pressure of playing for district standings.
The Lady Raiders tackle Grace Baptist 4:30 p.m. at Lee and after a brief rest will host Hixson at 7:30 at Cleveland.
“I’m excited. It’s going to give them some more playing time and some more practice time. This is a chance to see where we need to be,” said Stobert. I think we can compete with teams like Soddy and Ooltewah.
LADY TROJANS 10, LADY RAIDERS 1
Soddy-Daisy 132 202 1 — 10 7 2
Cleveland 000 001 0 — 1 6 7
WP: Emily Edwards. LP: Mikaela Clements. 2B: Savannah Moore (2) (SD); Abi Dye (C). Highlights: Moore 2-4 (SD); Carly Frost 3-3 (C). Records: Soddy-Daisy 3-0, 2-0 5-AAA; Cleveland 0-2, 0-2.
