The East Bernard Brahmarettes finished off their sweep over the Blooming Grove Lady Lions, grabbing a 3-0 win in Caldwell Friday evening.
The script was the same Friday as in most of the Brahmarettes wins this season, strong pitching and timely runs. East Bernard got seven strong innings from senior Rylie Holder and then three runs early, the combo advanced the Brahmarettes to the regional finals.
“Riley is performing at an incredible level right now. Riley, like all great players, perform at their best when the pressure is on. Obviously, the pressure gets bigger with every round in the playoffs, and Riley is getting better with every round. Great ones have that “IT,” factor and Riley has that big time,” Brahmarette coach Christine Sheets said.
Holder set the tone early with two strikeouts and a ground out, retiring the side in order.
In the bottom of the first, speedster lead-off hitter freshman Samantha Fryer drew a walk. Brahmarette senior Abigail Garcia followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Fryer into scoring position. Holder helped herself out on the mound and as the third batter in the lineup, she took one ball and then the next pitch she saw, dumped it into left field to score Fryer and put East Bernard on top. The Brahmarettes got another base runner on in the inning, but left them both stranded, however, with Holder on the mound the damage was done.
Holder the rest of the way, pitched to two batters over the minimum number of batters faced, allowing two singles and a hit by pitch, but one of the Lady Lion players was wiped away on a double play.
East Bernard themselves were limited offensively in game two, but picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the third off a passed ball and wild pitch to give them the 3-0 lead.
Sheets has been happy with what she’s seen from the entire team during the playoffs, now with a 6-1 record in the postseason.
“The biggest thing to me is the contribution from everyone on the roster. We are getting production from some of our younger players and that really compliments our upperclassmen,” Sheets said.
East Bernard in round two will face a familiar foe on the volleyball court, the Lexington Lady Eagles in a best-of-three series with all games in Navastoa. Game one will be Thursday at 6 p.m. Game two will be Friday at 6 p.m. Game three, if needed will be at noon on Saturday.
While the Brahmarettes don’t have a history with Lexington, Sheets knows the team will have a tough test in front of them.
“Lexington is a very balanced team offensively and defensively. They have a solid pitcher that will make us work for everything. Let’s be honest, you don’t get to the regional finals with being a really good team. We are going to have to perform well to get past Lexington,” Sheets said.
Lexington has beaten Buffalo, West and Central Heights on their road to the regional finals.