SOLON — In the continuation of a long-standing rivalry, the Solon Spartans tested their might against Clear Creek Amana in a doubleheader on Wednesday, July 2, but came up short in the end, being bested by the Clippers in both games.
The Clippers got off to a hot start early in game one, taking advantage of their excellent slugging and a few throwing mishaps from Solon, bringing them to a four-run lead over the Spartans through two innings.
The third inning felt like a different ball game for the Spartans, though. After a single to left by Riya Farlinger, the flood gates seemed to open. The Spartans followed up with back-to-back hits from Keegan Kleppe and Laeni Hinkle, firing up their squad.
It appeared as if Solon’s third inning striking couldn’t be stopped as Adelyn Miller recorded a single and an Emerson Miller grounder right through an infield gap chalked up two runs batted in. After both Liv Nelson and Addison Walter were walked, the Clippers reeled in their defense and ended the inning, not before the Spartans brought the score to a tie at four.
“When we came back and tied it at four in the bottom of the third, we needed a strongly pitched and defensive inning in the top of the fourth to keep our momentum,” said Head Coach Brad Holub
The Clippers’ fourth-inning batting proved to be too much for the Spartans momentum, though, highlighted with a double off the back wall from Kinsey Schulte and a three-run homer from Kyla Schulte, bringing their total to eight.
Game one seemed out of reach for Solon from that point on as the Clippers went on to score three more runs through the end of the game while the Spartans scored only two more, bringing its final score to 6-11.
“Good teams find ways to win big games and CCA did that tonight,” said Holub.
The Clippers rode their momentum into game two, coming out swinging for the fences, scoring five runs in the second and six in the fourth.
Stellar pitching and defense for the Clippers was the downfall for the Spartans as they recorded few hits and no runs in game two, bringing the final score to 0-11.
“I don’t feel we played as well as we could have,” said Holub. “When you play a talented team like CCA, you need to play your best ball and we didn’t tonight.”
The rivalry between Solon and CCA is a strong one. For Solon, the rivalry’s magnitude was clouded by CCA’s strong performance on Tuesday, but it is still a deeply personal contest for the teams.
“I think it means a lot to the players as they have grown up playing with and against most of the girls on the CCA team,” said Holub.
Solon now looks to future matchups, shrugging off the disheartening weight of the recent sweep and preparing for the postseason.
“Going into regionals we need to concentrate on us and clean up a few things,” said Holub. “We have the talent and ability to play with anyone. We just need to do that.”