Eastern Technical continues to make opponents pay for the errors of their ways.
The Mavericks took advantage of eight C. M. Wright errors for a regional semifinal win on Saturday and did more of the same yesterday, capitalizing on a number of Franklin mistakes for a 7-0 win in the Class 3A North Region final.
Visiting Eastern Technical (15-3), which advances to the state semifinals for the first time in school history and will face McDonough today at Randazzo Park, scored six unearned runs thanks to six Franklin errors.
In addition, the Indians helped the Mavericks with five wild pitches and a passed ball. This was a bit different from their last meeting, when Franklin (14-4) rolled to an 11-2 victory on the strength of several Mavericks miscues.
"The first time we played them, they couldn't make a mistake," said Eastern Technical coach Marian Klein. "Today we couldn't make a mistake."
Eastern Technical did not have an error in helping freshman pitcher Sandy Birchfield throw a five-hitter. Franklin hit the ball hard at times, but the Mavericks made all the necessary plays.
They did the same on offense, coming up with several clutch hits. Val Pferdeort (3-for-3, three runs) sparked the offense several times. She reached all five times up and her aggressive base running helped the cause.
"I wanted this so bad," said Pferdeort. "We came out here and we had something to prove."
Pferdeort scored the game's first run on a passed ball in the first. Franklin catcher Jessica McGraw's throw back to pitcher Kara Wingate hit the umpire just up the third-base line, letting Pferdeort score and setting the tone for the game.
The Mavericks broke it open in the sixth, taking advantage of four Franklin errors to score three times.
