Brianna Connor

Above, catcher Harley Connor hooked up with her cousin Brianna Connor at third a couple of times to catch TCU runners stealing. 

A meltdown fifth inning was the difference in an otherwise solid outing against Tri-City United on Tuesday in Le Center when the varsity girls fell to the Titans  11-7.

The Clippers let three runners on first base on bunts, two when no one covered the base on the shift and one on an overthrow. Those miscues along with a double, a hit batter, a walk and a single led to eight TCU runs and put them in front 11-4 going into the sixth.

"It was one half inning,” said head coach Dan Fredrickson. "They laid a bunt down first-base line, and it’s tough for us to cover that the way we position our defense. They laid down the next one, and we thought 'now we’ve got it fixed,' and we end up moving too many people around, too many parts around, and there was no one at first. We had a deek play we run when there is a runner on third, and all of a sudden there’s not a runner on third, so there was some miscommunication on that too."

The Clippers jumped out to a 2-0 lead against a hard-throwing pitcher in the first after Nicole McCabe doubled and scored on a Halle McCabe single. McCabe crossed the dish on the first of three hits Cassandra Connor would have in the outing.  

The Clippers went down with three-straight strikeouts in the second, but Macey Ziebarth led off with a walk, Emily Kern singled, and Halle McCabe bashed a triple for two RBIs and an 4-0 Clipper lead.

TCU got on the board in the third after a lead-off single, an intentional walk and a two-RBI single.

Liking a spot on third base, Halle McCabe blasted another triple to start the sixth. Cassandra Connor singled for the RBI while Harley McCabe doubled to score Sophie Shouler, who was running for Cassandra Connor.

"We hit the ball well enough today," Fredrickson said. 

Brianna Connor doubled to score her cousin Harley. Grayce Kortuem doubled too, and it looked like Brianna Connor had scored on the play, but the ump said she should have ran behind the shortstop and not in front of her and called interference and the second out.

It was a big out when the Clippers had momentum, and one that Fredrickson disagreed with.

"There was no contact. There doesn’t necessarily have to be contact, but Brianna didn’t impede her enough to where she could not make a play." 

But the obstruction call wasn't the real difference in the game, Fredrickson said.

"I still like the way we finished. We got runners on and had a couple of clutch hits, but it all came down to that one half inning, and that’s on me. We had two many moving parts, and I have to stick to what we do in practice."  

The Clippers struck out eight times and equaled with TCU with 11 hits. Halle McCabe had a single, two triples and a walk. Cassandra Connor was 3-4. Colie McCabe hit a double and a single. Harley Connor, Brianna Connor and Kortuem each had a double. Kern had a single.

In her six innings in the circle, Kern walked four, struck out four and beaned two.

Senior night today (Thursday), the Clippers host Sibley East.

Emily Kern pitched the entire game. Each team had 11 hits.

Taylin Gosh sets up for a putout throw to first.