MEQUON — An hour before first pitch, there was a cloud burst. Then, the sun came out. More rain fell, briefly, in the third inning. The sun reappeared a short time later. Ominous clouds and an occasional chilly wind were also part of the weather Friday during a North Shore Conference fastpitch softball game. The one constant through it all was Cassidy Gall, as the Cedarburg pitcher struck out eight of the first nine batters she faced and finished with 16 strikeouts in all.
In fact, the senior tossed a no-hitter to lead the Bulldogs to a 13-0 victory at Homestead, missing a perfect game by just one batter.
"She was locked in. She was throwing hard. Her drop curve was really painting the outside corner," Cedarburg co-head coach Mark Jessup said. "She was just in the zone today. She threw a nice game."
Gall was feeling good in the pitchers’ circle.
"I felt fast today and all my pitches were working," she said. "It helps to have Lillie (Makinster) behind the plate. She really gives me the confidence I need."
Gall added that sailing through the bottom of the first inning with three strikeouts set a positive tone for her outing.
"The first inning really gives me the confidence I need for the game," she explained. "If the first inning goes well, I just have that confidence rolling through all seven innings."
Best of all for the right-hander, all the strikeouts came without a walk.
"It’s really great," Gall said. "I just try to throw it in the zone, trust my swing and miss pitches."
Six of her strikeouts came on called third strikes. Jessup noted Gall had pinpoint command throughout the contest.
“She was painting the outside corner with her drop curve and throwing some rise balls and had them off-balance,” the coach said. “She throws very efficiently with her strike to ball ratio,” Gall felt she had her best stuff against the Highlanders. “I thought my drop curve was working really well,” she pointed out. “All my pitches were moving.”
Homestead put a runner on base when Maddy Konya reached on an error with one out in the seventh inning to break up the perfect game bid, but Gall finished the no-hitter thanks to a nice play in the field on the next batter. Jenna Burd lined the ball to second base, where Lizzie Nothem caught a line drive and tagged out the runner in one motion of an unassisted game-ending double play.
Jessup was happy to see Gall get the no-hitter, especially since she was close one day earlier in an 11-2 victory over Whitefish Bay.
“She kind of played with one the other day and got close and then she got this one,” the coach said in reference to a performance on Thursday in which Gall limited the Blue Dukes to two hits while striking out 13 batters. “These are high schoolers, they’re nervous and it’s exciting for them. That was a real nice game pitching.”
Whether Gall would get the no-hitter or perfect game was the only drama remaining in the final few frames after the Cedarburg offense scored three times in the first and plated runs in six different frames along the way.
The visitors got it started with some timely hitting in the opening inning. Ally Torbeck reached with a one-out single in the top of the first, moved to second when Gall grounded out and scored on a two-out hit by Emily Johnson. Ashley LeCavalier reached on a wild pitch on a strikeout, then Megan Lacke dropped in a triple just inside the right-field line to clear the bases for a 3-0 lead.
Cedarburg tacked on a couple more runs in the third inning. Gall singled to lead off the stanza, then Johnson crushed a two-run homer to center to make it 5-0.
“A left-handed bat. Tremendous power. When she connects, it goes,” Jessup said about the sophomore first baseman. “She’s doing a really good job. She’s behind Cassidy and that kind of gives her some pitches to look at, and when she does (connect), she drives it.”
Every player in the Cedarburg starting lineup reached base safely at least once, seven of the nine batters recorded a hit and seven different players scored at least one run. Five players drove in a run, with Johnson and Lacke each driving in three runs.
”It’s good to see everyone contributing,” Jessup said. “I think one through nine is solid. A lot of experience. We have four seniors, five seniors in the field, so they’ve all been playing together for many, many years.”
With the win, Cedarburg improved to 5-0 overall on the season and 4-0 in conference play. The team hosts West Bend West today at Wilterdink Field. The Bulldogs and Spartans both entered the week at 4-0 in the NSC. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.
Homestead, now 1-2 on the season, is at Port Washington today at 4:30 p.m.
