SOFTBALL: Scots' PAL Bay Title Hopes Take a Hit

The Score: Hillsdale 3, Carlmont 1.

The Star: Carlmont High junior right fielder Amelia Gerolimatos notched the impressive feat of getting two hits off Hillsdale ace Jordan Richwood with a pair of infield singles in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division showdown on Wednesday. Gerolimatos (2-for-3) also helped the Scots put an end to Richwood’s streak of 14 straight starts without allowing an earned run with her RBI groundout in the seventh inning. Unfortunately for Carlmont, the visitors managed little else in a defeat that likely cripples their PAL Bay title hopes.

The Turning Point: The first two innings. PAL Bay-leading Hillsdale took a 1-0 lead in the first behind a pair of one-out walks and two wild pitches. The Knights pushed their lead to 2-0 an inning later after Kristin Petrini drew a leadoff walk off losing pitcher Danielle Giuliacci (6-2), advanced to second on Lindsey Nielson’s sacrifice and then scored on a two-out RBI single by Kaylin Stewart (2-for-4). That cushion proved plenty for Richwood (18-2), who only allowed two baserunners in the first six innings.

The Quote: “In our two big games, our pitching hasn’t been there and we’ve been psyching ourselves out, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. We’re not letting this affect us. We’re just pushing through to (the Central Coast Section playoffs), and we’re going to make sure we bring it there.” – Carlmont senior Megan Hansen, on a common denominator in her team’s PAL Bay losses to Capuchino and Hillsdale, and the significance of those defeats.

What’s Next? The Scots (16-5, 7-2 PAL Bay) wrap up their three-games-in-three-days stretch with a visit to Aragon today at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, Hillsdale (19-3, 9-0) hosts Capuchino (15-4, 6-2) at the same time.

The Bottom Line: Carlmont’s hopes of dethroning Hillsdale, the defending PAL Bay champion, took a big hit. The Scots, No. 3 in , now need to win out and hope top-ranked Hillsdale loses twice. With the Memphis-bound Richwood on top of her game, the likelihood of the latter seems a real stretch.

Notes: Carlmont snapped Hillsdale’s streak of 10 straight shutout victories when Hansen led off the seventh with a walk, advanced to third on Aurora Stottler’s ensuing single and then scored on Gerolimatos’s groundout with one out. … That run was the first Richwood allowed since a 4-1 loss to Gilroy on March 12. The right-hander, who entered the day with a 0.34 ERA, has now allowed seven earned runs in 132 innings. … Stottler relieved Giuliacci in a first-and-second, one-out jam in the third. After Petrini’s sacrifice, Stottler stranded the runners and went on to allow one unearned run in 2 2/3 innings. … Freshman pitcher Missy Pekarek also weaved out of a jam in the sixth. After Hillsdale loaded the bases with one out on a pair of walks and a fielder’s choice, Pekarek impressively struck out Dani Fonseca and induced a pop-up from Courtney Tyler to end the threat. Both Fonseca and Tyler boast batting averages over .400, with plenty of pop. … Marissa Cho had another solid game against Carlmont by going 2-for-3. When the Knights clinched a share of their first league title in 20 years last May in a 3-1 home win over the Scots, Cho had two hits, including an inside-the-park home run. … Richwood notched her 16th double-digit strikeout game. She now has 242 strikeouts and has issued 21 walks.

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Hillsdale 3, Carlmont 1

C – 000 000 1 – 1 3 4

H – 110 010 x – 3 4 0

WP: Richwood (18-2). LP: Giuliacci (6-2).

2 hits: Gerolimatos (C); Stewart, Cho (H).

Records: Carlmont 16-5, 7-2 PAL Bay. Hillsdale 19-3, 9-0.