Chris Girandola, Times Correspondent
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
ST. PETERSBURG — Jessica Anderson wanted one last chance at the plate on Tuesday in Northside Christian's rematch against Shorecrest, which beat the Mustangs 12-7 two weeks ago.
So did Kat Brown.
Neither got a chance as Shorecrest coach Trent Rubley decided to intentionally walk the Mustangs' two biggest bats with two outs in the sixth inning and the Chargers clinging to a 4-3 lead.
The strategy worked as Shorecrest eighth-grader Raquel Galinski retired Lauren Tozour on a grounder, then finished the Mustangs in the seventh inning when her sister, Alexis, made an over-the-shoulder catch with a runner on base to end the game.
"It was so frustrating because I wanted to help my team win in some way," said Anderson, who had gone 2-for-3 and driven in two runs before the sixth inning. "When they walked me and Kat, I just felt so helpless."
The Mustangs' sophomore was brilliant on the mound as well, striking out 10 batters and walking two. Anderson gave up four runs, but only one was earned as the right-hander fell victim to some unfortunate play in the field.
With the Mustangs (4-2) leading 3-2 in the top of the sixth, Anderson allowed Alexis and Jaqueline Galinski to reach base with one out. After retiring the next batter, Anderson appeared to get out of the inning when she forced Molly Webber into a groundball back to her.
But the throw to first was mishandled and both runners for Shorecrest (6-1) came around to score.
"I'm just always aggressive on the basepaths and I just kept running when the ball was hit," said Jaqueline Galinski, who scored Shorecrest's first run in the first inning from second base on a hustle play. "It's all about being instinctive and then forcing the issue."
Jaqueline, the third-leading hitter in Pinellas County, went 2-for-3 and Alexis went 3-for-5.
Raquel Galinski (6-0) had four strikeouts and scattered eight hits over her 92-pitch outing in which she tossed 57 strikes.