Lake Park clinches share of UEC Valley

When you are on a hot streak like Lake Park is, you find ways to win games that almost defy the softball odds.

Take Saturday for instance.

The 18th-ranked Lancers spotted No. 16 Neuqua Valley a 3-run lead after an inning, played almost the entire game minus two injured infielders and still won 4-3 in Roselle.

Lake Park’s second win over Neuqua Valley in less than 24 hours was the Lancers’ 19th in 21 games. Coupled with Bartlett’s loss to Metea Valley, Lake Park (21-10, 14-3) clinched at least a share of the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division title and can win it outright Monday at Bartlett.

“It’s almost like the sky was falling when Lake Park was 2-6,” said Lancers coach Tom Mazzie, “but I told them, ‘Don’t worry, we’re gonna hit our stride.’ This is as together a team as I’ve had, dependent on no one person. That’s been the beauty of this year.”

Lake Park won Friday’s game 3-2 with 2 runs in the seventh, and Saturday also went down to the last at-bat.

Trailing 4-3, Neuqua got singles from Leigh Nebendahl and Brooke Meyer to start the top of the seventh. Marilyn Perry came on in relief of Lisa Baumgart for Lake Park, and a 10-pitch battle with Neuqua’s Megan Childs ensued. On the 10th pitch Childs popped up to short. The infield fly rule was called, and the batter ruled automatically out, but the pop up was dropped. Neuqua’s courtesy runner was thrown out trying to take third base for an unconventional double play.

A day after stranding eight runners, Neuqua left a killer 10 on base.

“That’s something we’ve struggled with all season,” said Neuqua coach Melissa Wilson, a pitcher for Lake Park’s 2003 state runners-up. “The girls know it, I know it and until we get those runners around we’re not going to be successful against these good teams.”

Winning pitcher Baumgart (14-6) scattered 9 hits and 3 walks in six-plus innings, consistently working into and out of trouble.

“I’ll be honest, that’s kind of how we play,” Mazzie said. “I don’t joke when I say I’m getting gray hairs every time I watch us play. We get ourselves in jams, but in most games our defense picks us up or our pitchers make the pitches when we need them.”

Neuqua (13-8, 8-7) jumped ahead 3-0 in the first. Kat Widup reached on an infield single, Amanda Mener beat out a bunt single and Widup scored on a throwing error. Nebendahl then went the other way for a 2-run homer.

Quiet for two innings, Lake Park got a run back in the third on doubles by Stephanie Aronson and Kelly O’Neill.

“After the first couple innings, everybody started to adjust to their pitcher,” Aronson said. “Once we start hitting everybody starts getting more into the game.”

Baumgart singled to start the Lancers fifth, courtesy runner Mariah Harper stole second and scored on an Aronson single. One out later O’Neill lifted a flyball to center that was dropped, putting O’Neill at second and scoring Aronson.

O’Neill eventually came home with the go-ahead run on an errant pickoff throw to third.

“Typically, I’d be pretty worried when we got down 3-0,” Mazzie said, “but the way we’ve been going, it’s hard to get worried.”