File photo – Olivia Gossi
The Wildcats made it back-to-back wins to start the new softball season with a 3-2 victory over Lower Lake on Saturday.
One day after beating Willows in their season opener, the Ferndale girls got the better of the Trojans in exciting fashion, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Junior Olivia Gossi, who has hit the ground running this season, had a big impact on Saturday, in more ways than one.
The Cats opened up a 2-0 lead after scoring runs in the third and fourth innings, but the Lake County school would battle back to tie things up with runs in the top of the fifth and seventh innings.
But the Wildcats would respond in the bottom half of the seventh.
Gossi was walked to reach base and then stole her way to third, before senior Quinn Stokesberry hit a clutch base hit to score her teammate for the walk-off win.
“It was a team effort,” Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith said. “Different people stepped up at different times to make plays. It was a solid all-around team effort.”
No one played a bigger role than Gossi and Stokesberry, the latter of whom has only been with the team for less than a week after the Cats’ long playoff run in basketball.
In fact, Griffith has only had one practice with his full team because of the Cats’ success on the basketball court, but that hasn’t affected the team in the opening two games.
Gossi also got the win in the circle on Saturday, less than 24 hours after she posted the victory against Willows.
She threw a complete game against the Trojans, allowing just one earned run on four hits and four walks and striking out 13.
The impressive junior now has 24 strikeouts in her first two games.
Griffith described it as a “really good” start for the Ferndale pitcher.
“She’s been really attacking the zone in her first two starts,” the coach said. “It’s something she focused on in the offseason and it’s working well for her.”
Tinnley Pidgeon also impressed in Saturday’s win, finishing 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while fellow senior Madison Gossi went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.
Junior Fallon Bullan and her sister, freshman Arkana Bullan, each also finished 1-for-2.
Next up, the 2-0 Wildcats will play a doubleheader at Hayfork on Tuesday.
