Nelson sisters help lead Stone Ridge softball into championship series

Gerald Nelson knew his team wasn’t ready for its season to end.

The Stone Ridge Christian softball coach had a brief concern that a 2-1 loss to Ripon Christian in the 100-degree heat earlier on Tuesday might have drained his squad both physically and mentally. But watching the Knights warm up before Tuesday night’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII elimination game with Valley Christian put any concern to rest.

“I told them today I didn’t even need to coach them, because when I went to the circle they were motivating themselves,” Nelson said. “They were engaged and into it from the first game today. My leaders stepped up. My captains stepped up and that was that.”

Stone Ridge left no doubts, jumping out to a 5-0 lead on Valley Christian and holding on for a 5-2 victory at the Arnaiz Softball Complex. The win earns the Knights a spot in the DVII championship series on Wednesday and a rematch with top-seeded Ripon Christian.

SRC (19-6) will have to defeat undefeated Ripon Christian twice to capture the first section title in program history. The first game is set for 5 p.m. A second game will follow if necessary.

“I think fatigue may be a factor, but this team has gotten it done with nine, 10 players the whole season,” Nelson said. “All we were looking for was a chance and we’ve got it. I told the girls if we made it to (Wednesday) I’d be very proud, regardless of what happens.

“All we’re worried about right now is forcing that second game.”

With just 10 players on the roster, depth is not one of the Knights’ strengths, but Stone Ridge does have the benefit of a pair formidable freshmen arms. It paid dividends with back-to-back games in the heat.

Emma Eastman tossed seven strong innings, taking a tough-luck 2-1 loss to Ripon Christian. Nelson was able to come back with a fresh Hannah Nelson for the nightcap.

The right-hander dominated, tossing five no-hit innings to open the game and striking out 12. Hannah Nelson surrendered just two unearned runs on two hits.

She got plenty of run support, starting with her older sister. Eleanor Nelson opened the game with a bang, belting a solo home run over the left field fence to open the scoring in the bottom of the first.

Laura Hooker doubled the lead with a run-scoring single in the second and Stone Ridge added another run on a wild pitch. Eastman and Hooker each delivered RBI singles in the fifth to make it 5-0.

Valley Christian (16-7-1) finally broke through with RBI singles from Maddie Ochoa and Haley Schilling in the sixth inning, but Hannah Nelson limited the damage and the Lions didn’t threaten again.

“It’s just a mental game,” Eleanor Nelson said of the quick bounce-back performance. “We had to say, ‘Who wants it more?’ And we had to have fun with it.

“Everybody in this team has big hearts and we build off of each other’s enthusiasm. We’ve had a lot of fun this season and didn’t want it to end.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 1:34 AM with the headline "Nelson sisters help lead Stone Ridge softball into championship series."