SPARKS - Playing in the semifinal game of the Reed Easter Tournament against Foothill High (Palo Cedro, Calif.), the Carson High softball team was right where it wanted to be on Saturday afternoon.
Unfortunately for the Senators, the team's best all-around player - Nicole Freeman - turned out to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Freeman, Carson's starting pitcher and leading hitter, was accidentally struck by a foul ball from the tournament's other semifinal game while she was standing near the Carson dugout waiting to bat in the top of the first inning. After being hit in the right shoulder by the ball, she was taken to the hospital by her parents and never appeared in the game.
Without Freeman, who had already pitched and won two games while driving in three runs during the morning to help Carson reach the semifinals, the Senators' didn't generate much offense and lost 1-0. The loss ended a 10-game winning streak for Carson, now 26-7.
"This is our first case of bad luck this season, and hopefully it will be our last one," said Carson coach John Sullivan. "When you have to take your best hitter's bat out of the lineup, it's hard to win."
As it turned out, the loss of Freeman didn't affect the quality of Carson's pitching. Melissa Stone, given only 10 minutes to warm up for her emergency start, pitched an excellent game. She gave up no earned runs and only three hits to Foothill batters while striking out five.
The only run of the game came in the bottom of the second when Foothill's Tara Christiensen singled sharply to left. The ball eluded Carson's left fielder and Christiensen scored on a close play. (Foothill's scorer ruled the hit a double.)
That one run was the difference in the ball game, as Foothill's Jen Eaton was just as effective as Stone. Carson recorded only one hit off Eaton, a single by Chrissy Joseph.
The Senators had little to be ashamed of in narrowly losing to Foothill, which went on to beat Wooster 1-0 for the tournament championship. Foothill (22-5) entered the game ranked No. 10 in California in Division III and had given Wooster (16-0 in zone play) its only non-league loss, 4-2, during the Lassen Tournament in Susanville, Calif.
"We had a pretty good pitching performance and will take the win, but we didn't like to win the game on an error," said Foothill coach Lloyd Menatee, whose team had advanced to the semifinal despite an opening-game 1-0 loss to McQueen. Foothill had rebounded to beat Douglas 6-0, Sparks 4-3, and Reed 3-1 to reach the semis.
After opening the tourney with two wins on Friday, Carson had advanced to the semifinal game with an 11-0 win over Fallon and a 4-0 victory against Turlock on Saturday morning.
Against the Greenwave, Freeman and Stone combined on a one-hitter. In that game, Brandi Controneo had two hits and drove in three runs.
Freeman came back against Turlock to pitch a complete-game victory in which she struck out 14 batters. Kellie Karasek led the Senators at the plate in that game with a 3-for-3 performance that included two doubles, a triple, and a RBI. Joseph was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.
Although Freeman did have a contusion, X-rays showed no fractures and the senior right-hander, with the upcoming nine-day layoff for Spring Break, is likely to be back in the Senator lineup on May 2 when Carson plays at Hug.
Carson has four Northern 4A Zone regular season games remaining before the zone playoffs begin on May 11. Sullivan said the players will be eager to start another winning streak when the season resumes.
"There's lots of team confidence now," Sullivan said. "When you have 10 wins in a row against tough competition, it's very helpful for your self-esteem."