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SOFTBALL: With Half the Season Remaining, PCL Standings Tighten

By John Knebels, 04/19/19, 6:45PM EDT

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By: John Knebels                                                                  

PHILADELPHIA –This is where it starts to get really fun.

With a little less than half of the Catholic League softball season still remaining, a horde of teams are trying to finish among the top six so they can avoid having to play a pre-quarterfinal.

Among those is Archbishop Wood, which this past week re-established itself as a viable threat. In a potentially pivotal contest, the Vikings defeated Bonner-Prendergast, 9-5, on the road. 

About 24 hours later, the next challenge was particularly daunting, as the Vikings traveled to defending champion and currently undefeated Archbishop Ryan for a rare night game. The Vikings led, 4-3, heading into the sixth, but Ryan scored a run in both the sixth and seventh to pull out a gut-wrenching 5-4 decision.


Archbishop Wood junior Kylee Guerrera - Photo courtesy of Wood softball

Going into this week, we knew the only way we were going to have a fighting chance against Prendie and Ryan was if we all played together and had each other’s backs,” said junior standout third baseman Kylee Guerrera. “We knew that both teams were solid throughout their entire lineup and in the field. 

“Going into the Prendie game we focused on playing for another person on the team. It wasn’t about how well we played as individuals; it was more than that. It was about how we picked each other up when they were having a bad game or things didn’t turn out the way they had hoped.”

Now at 4-4, Wood is tied for sixth place with three other teams (4-4 Archbishop Carroll, 3-3 John W. Hallahan, and 3-3 Little Flower) and a half game out of fifth. Since it’s ideal to be playing your best during the home stretch, the Vikings have become a team to watch, this despite fielding seven starting underclassmen.

But it’s more than just offense and defense that has propelled the Vikings back into the spotlight.

“Recently we have just grown as a team,” said Guerrera, one of two returning first-team All-Catholics along with senior shortstop Gianna Lancelotti. “We play for each other. We pick each other up and never let someone feel down. This week was a huge confidence booster. Being a young team, we knew we were going to have to make every play count. The Prendie game was a huge win. Our bats came out on fire and we never took our foot off the gas. 

“Then we carried that into the Ryan game. We came out with our hair on fire from the first inning. Scoring first was huge and then having kept the intensity throughout the whole game was the reason we almost came out in top.”

Sophomore Deanna Campbell echoed her teammate.

“We knew we had two big games coming up and needed to be completely focused in order to succeed and gain much-needed confidence,” said Campbell.  

“Our team is a bit on the younger side but we are growing together as a team and learning how to win. Things can only get better from here.”

Wood coach Jackie Ecker has been waiting for the Vikings to blend into potency. Consider the third-year coach optimistic about the present and future.

“We knew we had to pull ourselves together and beat Bonner-Prendie,” said Ecker. “It was a must-win game in our eyes. We know we have the talent on this team; we just needed to work as a team.  Our captains (Guerrera, Campbell, Lancelotti, and third-team All-Catholic senior Jules Donchez) rallied their teammates.”


Archbishop Ryan senior Meghan Kidd greets Archbishop Wood head coach Jackie Ecker before a rare evening softball game on April 17th, won dramatically by Ryan 5-4. Ecker coached Kidd in last year's Carpenter Cup tournament.

On the flip side, Archbishop Ryan was pushed to the limit. Entering, the Ragdolls had allowed only three runs in their five victories. 

Trailing 4-3 in the sixth, senior Meghan Kidd led off by slamming a game-tying home run over the centerfield fence. Two innings earlier, Kidd had to deal with a dizzy spell that, she said, only “lasted for a second.”

“If getting dizzy for a second helped me hit a homerun, I would definitely do it all the time,” she laughed.

With the game tied in the seventh, sophomore pitcher Dana Bell worked a one-out walk and was replaced by sophomore pinch runner Dana Moser. Three batters later, sophomore Lauren Hagy singled home the winning tally, and the Ragdolls had survived a major upset attempt.

Hagy said she would never forget the moment.  

“It felt amazing afterwards,” said Hagy about her first-ever high school walk-off. “It was really nerve-racking with all that pressure against a really good team, but I really wanted to get a hit there for my team because we worked so hard for that win. But I wouldn’t have had the chance if it wasn’t for Meg Kidd’s big homer to tie it.

“I wasn’t surprised at all that Wood played us so tough because they beat us last year, so I knew we would have some tough competition with them this year, too, especially since everyone really wants to beat us after we won the PCL last year.”

The only other undefeated team in the Catholic League is Cardinal O’Hara. The Lions’ 6-0 record has been constructed against a collective 23-19 record, and none of their opponents have a losing record.

O’Hara, which has a strong one-two pitching punch in senior Jenna Smith and junior Maggie Loomis, will host Archbishop Ryan on May 2 for what might be the regular-season title. But that’s for another day. In the meantime, O’Hara has outscored its opposition by a scary 55-20. Eight of those runs came in a 10-8 slugfest win at Little Flower.

“The season so far has been one to remember,” said Lexi Galli, one of seven senior starters. “We have big hopes for the future. Our defense has been solid and we have had key hits that broke open games. 

“The seniors have really stepped up this year with others following right in their footsteps. Everyone has stood together, and even if one girl is having a bad day, we’re always there to pick them up. We are all here together as one team.”

Senior Julia Kush described the Lions as “a complete team offensively and defensively.”

“We have six seniors who have played together all four years at O’Hara and most played together the last eight years with tournament softball,” said Kush. “We started the season off with two big wins against St. Hubert’s and Archbishop Wood, which gave the team a confidence boost. 

“Our game versus Little Flower was memorable because we jumped out to an early four-run lead, but they came right back and tied the game. It went back and forth until the last inning when we scored two and held them for a 10-8 win. This game proved to all of us that we could win under any circumstances.”

At 3-3, John W. Hallahan is hanging tough and has a rugged schedule upcoming. Junior Grace Scally was asked to select a season highlight thus far.

Not surprisingly, she chose the league-opening 10-6 win over visiting Conwell-Egan, one of the PCL’s perennial juggernauts.  

“Many new and exciting things happened during this game,” said Scally. “Our new coach won (Brian Sitongia) his very first varsity game. It was also the first time we beat Conwell-Egan in a long time. Also, it was my first start as the varsity pitcher.  

Junior pitcher Grace Scally from Hallahan posts a strikeout in game vs. CEC from video courtesy of Holly Scally

“My team pulled through and we worked as a team to win. They backed me up and picked me up when I started to get tired.”

Hallahan’s most recent success was a 9-2 win over Neumann-Goretti.

“We went into this game thinking it was going to be just one of those easy games where we walk off with a win,” said junior Nina Rowan. “We were wrong. Neumann-Goretti put up a big fight and did not give up. No matter the score, it still was not a bad game. 

“Throughout this whole game my team gave continuous encouraging advice towards each other whether one was playing the bench, or while on the field. Without this support from one another, we would not have had the victory.”  

Game of the Week honors go to Little Flower’s 4-3 win at Archbishop Carroll. The Sentinels led by 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth and gave up an unearned run, only to get it back in the seventh. The Patriots, however, tied the game to send it into extra frames. The eighth and ninth went scoreless.

In the visiting 10th, junior pitcher Ginny Britto drove in the go-ahead run to give Little Flower the lead. She then thwarted the Patriots in their half, highlighted by a game-clinching strikeout. 

Little Flower junior pitcher Ginny Britto gets a strikeout in LF's 4-3 victory vs. Carroll

“Winning that game against Carroll was huge for us,” said Britto. “We really came together as a team and relied on each other to make the play or get a hit. It was a huge confidence booster for our team and we proved to one another that we can not only compete with – but beat – tough teams.”

Little Flower coach Mark Fusetti was enthralled.

“It was dramatic,” said. “It was amazing.”

 

(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)