BELLA VISTA – Sophomore Marisa Browne pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out 14 Saints to help Archbishop Wood (2-2, 2-1 Philadelphia Catholic League) earn a 6-0 road win against Neumann-Goretti Thursday afternoon.
Browne had a no-hitter going through five and one-third innings, only allowing two runners to reach on errors. A single and a walk with one out in the bottom of the sixth gave the Saints their only opportunity with a runner in scoring position. Browne struck out Giavanna Melaragni and induced a groundout from Mercedes Sloan to end the inning and preserve the 6-0 lead.
Sophomore Marisa Browne threw a complete game shutout and was 2-4 at the plate to help Archbishop Wood earn its second league win. (Evan Easterling/Philly Sports Digest)
“She’s got a lot of experience outside of here and I think her and our catcher [Delanie Boyk] they’re starting to work well together, so they’re starting to mix up the pitches,” coach Kevin Rosini said. “She reads hitters really well…She saw early in the game they were way behind on her so she just kept going with the fastball until they proved they could hit it. As the game wore on she mixed in some other things. She’s a smart girl. She’s a smart pitcher. She’s quality and that will serve us well down the road.”
The Vikings took a 1-0 lead when cleanup hitter Andria Narisi hit a lead-off homerun to start the top of the second inning. The senior first baseman was 4-for-4 with two RBIs on the day.
Wood built on its lead in the third inning. Senior left fielder Jessica Atwell and freshman second baseman Julianna Donchez each singled and stole a base to start the inning, putting runners at second and third with no one out. Sophomore right fielder Taylor Carter, a left hand hitter, hit a line drive that got past Saints right fielder Aileen Small and rolled for a three-run home run.
The Vikings added one more run in the inning to take a 5-0 lead. The first seven hitters to come to the plate in the inning all got hits, as the team batted around. After starting the inning with a single, Atwell ended the inning by popping out to second.
“I think that the third inning was important because [after] all the errors that we were making and everything, we came back and got more confident on the field and more confident at batting too,” Narisi said.
The Vikings added their sixth run in the fourth inning when Donchez’s single to left field got past Saints left fielder Julia Kinney and rolled behind her, allowing her to score on a three-base error.
Despite the six runs, Rosini was not completely happy with his offense. Wood left 11 runners on base Thursday. Saints pitcher Mollie O’Mara struck out junior center fielder Aubrey Kavesi and got the next two hitters to pop out to leave the bases loaded in the third inning.
“We probably should have scored way more runs than we did today,” Rosini said. “So in a way I’m happy, because we’re starting to hit the ball and seeing the ball better. In a way, I wish we would have taken advantage of a few more things, but you know we did what we needed to do to win and I’m happy with that.”
The Saints will play next at Cardinal O’Hara on Wednesday, while the Vikings will face Archbishop Carroll Tuesday.
Senior first baseman Andria Narisi on her success at the plate.
Archbishop Wood 6, Neumann-Goretti 0 April 14, 2016 Palumbo Park and Recreation Center
Marisa Browne pitched a complete game two-hit shutout and was 2-4 at the plate in the win. Andria Narisi was 4-4 with a HR and 2 RBI. Taylor Carter was 1-4 with a three-run home run. Julianna Donchez was 2-3 with two runs scored. Mollie O'Mara pitched a complete game allowing five earned runs for the Saints. Photos by Evan Easterling.