CLYDE — You know you’re witnessing a masterful pitching performance when fans of the opposition have been reduced to cheering foul balls.  And in Friday’s 6-0 Clyde win over Merkel, CHS hurler Brynli Reynolds delivered exactly that — a game so dominating that any contact made by the opposition was greeted with encouragement. 

To begin with, Reynolds tossed a perfect game against a Merkel team that entered the contest with a 19-1 overall record.  There were no hits, no walks and no Clyde errors while 21 straight Merkel hitters were retired.

But that doesn’t fully illustrate what occurred at Clyde’s Hanner Sports Complex. In fact, it undersells it. 

Reynolds, you see, is only a freshman. And in seven innings of work against a legitimate district title contender, she struck out 20 batters. Not only that, but she fanned the first 17 hitters she faced, with the only ball put into play being a routine groundball out to second base by McKinley Crouch with two outs in the sixth inning.

Lost in all this was an effective pitching performance by Crouch, who allowed four earned runs on eight hits against a 19-0 Clyde team with 11 strikeouts of her own.

The Lady Badgers fell to 19-2 overall and 3-1 in District 6-3A. Clyde is now 6-0 in district.