Sports

Tam's Road to NCS Softball Crown Starts at Home

Terra Linda, the only visiting team to win on the Hawks' field this season, is Friday's very familiar opponent as Tam looks to improve upon last year's runner-up finish.

There’s only one thing better than avenging a bitter loss.

Avenging it twice, with the stakes even higher the second time around.

That’s the softball team’s goal Friday when it hosts Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) rival Terra Linda at 5 p.m. in the North Coast Section (NCS) quarterfinals.

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“I think it works to our advantage,” Tam coach said of the two earlier meetings. “Knowing that we beat them pretty handily last time, with shutting them down … They have a tough time hitting her. That’s our advantage.”

The Trojans got to Scarsella for four runs in the first meeting of the season, a game the Red-tailed Hawks thought they’d won by getting an apparent third out in the top of the seventh inning. But a call reversal was followed by Ally Lucchi’s shocking two-run homer, and all of a sudden Tam was on the short end of a 4-3 decision.

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The Hawks extracted some revenge in the rematch at Terra Linda, winning 7-1. That helped Tam (third) earn a higher seeding than the Trojans (sixth) in the NCS tournament, which is why Friday’s game is in Mill Valley.

And also why Tam earned a first-round bye, whereas Terra Linda had to beat Campolindo of Moraga on Thursday just to get a shot at the Hawks.

“Sammy (Schilling) is a good pitcher, but any pitcher after pitching the day before is going to have wear and tear,” Wills said of the Terra Linda ace, who pitched Thursday’s 5-0 win. “I’m hoping that will give us a slight advantage.”

Another edge the Hawks have is experience. No player on the Terra Linda team had played an NCS game before Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Hawks have extensive NCS experience, including last year’s march to the finals.

“The girls are very excited about playing (in the NCS) and being a high seed,” Wills said. “They see us getting back to the finals again. If they get by Terra Linda, there’s a good chance of playing (2010 NCS champ) Bishop O’Dowd again.

“Absolutely there’s a sense of unfinished business. And the biggest thing about this is: The girls all know we can do it. They know we can make it back to the finals and win it. They know you can’t make mistakes. Just like (Saturday) against Redwood – you can’t make mistakes against good teams.”

Wills considers and two potentially key performers in the club’s effort not only to dispatch of Terra Linda but also to take the final step it slipped upon last year.

“Hitting is contagious,” he noted. “If we can get the bottom of the lineup going (where Gough and Lee are slotted), and the top of the lineup does what they’re capable of doing, we’re going to give people fits.”


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