“Rocklin is good, they are not seeded in Nor Cal for nothing.”
That is what Pitman varsity softball head coach Joe Lewis said after his team was shutout on Wednesday, 10-0, in the opening round of the Division-II CIF Sac-Joaquin Section tournament by Rocklin, the No. 1 team in the bracket and the No. 39 ranked team in California.
“After the first I thought if we stayed within reach then we would be okay but then the errors and we just imploded,” said Lewis.
Pitman went on to commit six errors for the game and allowed Rocklin to get up early with a 9-0 lead after the third inning.
Rocklin tallied 12 hits for the game and Pitman just tallied two.
It didn't help that Rocklin's starter Carli Cutler was on top of her game. Cutler had zero walks and struck out 10 in just five innings, averaging two strikeouts per inning.
“She was not overpowering; we have seen harder throwers but she had tons of movement and threw a variety of pitches real well,” said Lewis.
In 33 plate appearances for the game, Rocklin struck out just once.
Pitman started Denae Finney who went 2 1/3 innings before being relieved by Alanah Laupua, who went 2 2/3 innings to finish it off.
After Rocklin scored one in the first, the second and third were a blur of multiple errors committed by the Pitman defense.
Laupua and Claire Fountain were the only players with a hit for Pitman as both went 1 for 2.
Pitman ends the year with a 10-15 overall record and will lose two seniors for the next season.
“We are young, so it’s good,” said Lewis. “We only lose two, then whatever comes up from JV. I'm excited. I see good players and some will definitely do good things. It was a positive year to make it to the playoffs. We have a bright future and I told the girls to get ready to go for next year.”