With the Clippers up 5-0 over NRHEG in the in the top of the seventh on Friday, Delaney Thompson beaned a batter.
Besides an infield error in the second, it was all that kept the sophomore from a perfect game.
Thompson was in her 14th inning on the evening, and the Clippers, who had beaten Blooming Prairie 11-3 an hour earlier, were wrapping up the 2-0 series under the lights at Caswell Park, so the slight mishap was easy to overlook.
But Thompson said her arm didn't ran out of gas.
“I like playing when it gets dark out. I feel like it gives me some adrenaline.”
The Clippers were coming off their first loss of the season when they fell hard to undefeated USC on Monday, so the pair of wins was welcome as they take on a tough Martin County West team on the road tomorrow (Tuesday).
“I think we all went into that (USC) game not confident and we had already lost before the game even started, and it just went downhill from there,” Thompson said. “But we knew that these games would help boost our confidence back up. It shows we have the ability to win, and other wins weren’t just a mistake and we actually earned those wins just like we did with these two.”
Thompson’s mom, head coach April Thompson, said the Clippers regrouped after their first loss.
“On Tuesday and Wednesday, we focused on battling back. We have to overcome the hardships of that loss and work on the things we made mistakes on and continue to work on getting better for the remainder of the season.”
The Clippers also made a defensive change, moving Ava Hahn from center field to third base, Lacey McCabe from left field to center field and Anna Lamont from third base to center field.
Considering Hahn hadn’t played infield since she was in junior high, her one error, a bobble on a hard hit grounder, was understandable. The Clipper outfield played perfect ball.
“Ava did great at third base,” Thompson said, “so it was a good change for us.”
Hahn swung for a single in the first, stole second, advanced to third when the first baseman pulled her foot on a Keira Schipper grounder and scored on a Kaitlyn Flowers single to put the Clippers in front of NRHEG 1-0.
Hahn led off the third with a single, again swiped second and scored on an off-target throw from third after a Schipper grounder. Flowers reached first on a hard-hit ball the third baseman couldn’t handle. Schipper came home when Taylor McCabe drove a hit to center field, and the Clippers were ahead 3-0.
Their final two runs came in the fourth. With one out, Thompson’s grounder got through the shortstop. She stole second while Hahn walked. Thompson scored when Schipper slammed a double. Hahn tagged up for the run on a Flowers fly out.
The Panther runner that got beaned, stole second and third and scored on a passed ball for a 5-1 final.
Thompson struck out eight in the no hitter.
The Clippers scattered five hits and walked twice. Hahn had two singles. Schipper had a double. Flowers and McCabe each recorded a single.
The Panthers committed four errors.
Cleveland 11, Blooming Prairie 3
The Clippers posted three runs in the third. Leading off, Flowers got hit by a pitch, advanced on a Taylor McCabe single and a Lacey McCabe sacrifice fly and scored when Cecelia Gair airmailed a hit to the left field fence for a two-RBI double. Back at the top of the order, Thompson doubled to score Gair.
They broke the game open in the fourth with six runs. Lamont led off with a free pass. The Awesome Blossoms errored on a Lacey McCabe bunt. Gair singled to score Lamont from second. After Taylor Wolf walked to pack the bases, Thompson stroked a two-RBI double. Hahn singled to scored Wolf. From third, Thompson grabbed home plate on a wild pitch, and Schipper singled to score Hahn for a 9-0 Clipper lead.
The Clippers were hoping to end the game after sixth when Schipper led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a Taylor McCabe flyout and scored on a Jocelyn Kortuem single. But in the bottom of the frame, the Blossoms hung around with three walks and a two-RBI single.
Gair led off the seventh with a walk, but the Blossom’s got her at home when the shortstop relayed the ball home when eighth grader Brooklynn Bosse, in her first varsity at bat, singled to left field. But Bosse snatched second on the play and then scored when Hahn plopped a hit into right field.
Bosse will stick with varsity the rest of the season, coach Thompson said.
The Blossoms posted a run in the seventh on a single and a walk, and an infield error. But shortstop Flowers recovered on the play and tossed to Hahn at third for the tagout to end the game.
Schipper bullied the Blossoms with three singles and an RBI. Gair was 3-2 at the dish with a single and a double and two RBIs. She also walked once. Hahn had two hits and two RBIs. Thompson pounded a pair of doubles for three RBIs. Kortuem had a single and an RBI. Lamont, Bosse and Taylor McCabe each had a single.
Thompson allowed four hits and six walks while striking out 10.
Each team committed one error.
The Clippers, now 9-1, will take a long road trip to Welcome tomorrow (Tuesday). The Mavericks will be looking to avenge their 3-2 loss to the Clippers earlier in the season. Their only other loss was 6-2 to USC.
“They have a really good pitcher and good hitting too,” Delaney Thompson said. “So we’ll have to work hard to win.”
Above: With a pair of triumphs at Caswell Park in North Mankato, the Clippers had a lot to smile about on Friday. Coming off the field here are Taylor Wolf, Keira Schipper, Delaney Thompson and Ava Hahn.
