GLENSIDE, PA – Bonner-Prendergast led, 3-1, heading into the bottom of the seventh inning in Wednesday afternoon’s Catholic League softball championship at Arcadia University. There was a palpable sense that the Pandas’ opponent, St. Hubert, would rally.
The Bambies did precisely that. They got their first two runners on base, advanced them to second and third, scored one of them on a ground out to make the score 3-2.
Then, with the tying run on third base and two outs, B-P junior pitcher Meg Sullivan ignored the nerves, approached the mound, enveloped the ball, and fired an outside, two-seam fastball. A swing and a miss later, Sullivan raced toward senior catcher Melissa Callahan, and her jubilant teammates followed suit from left, right, and center.
Meg Sullivan strikes out last batter to clinch Bonner-Prendergast's 3-2 championship
Bonner-Prendergast was the queen of Catholic League softball.
Queue the highlight reel:
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Sullivan was as gutsy as gutsy gets. Not only did she allow a stingy three hits and strike out six, she supplied a two-run single in the first inning and scored what proved to be the winning run two batters later following an infield error.
Winning pitcher Meg Sullivan talks about the last inning:
“I’m just like extremely proud of my team,” said Sullivan. “I’m ecstatic. I don’t know how to explain myself. It just feels amazing to do this with my best friends . . . It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever had in softball. I never experienced so much excitement.
“Coming into the season, I really had a lot of confidence. I just knew coming in we had a shot if we worked hard in the offseason and came out strong in the regular season.”
Sullivan on her teammates: “(They’re) always there to pick me up. I can always count on them to make that play or clam me down.”
Senior catcher Melissa Callahan was impressed.
“She was so good,” said Callahan. “She pitched the best I’ve ever seen her pitch.”
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In the bottom of the fourth, Hubert trailed, 3-1, and had runners on first and second with two outs. Junior Avery Hibbs slapped a ball up the middle that appeared ticketed for the outfield and a sure run.
Caroline Manfre's defense arguably saved the championship:
Kerri Quinn was joined in the celebration by her little cousin & godson, Tommy - Kerri's biggest fan! (0:49)
Out of nowhere, Panda senior shortstop Caroline Manfre executed a full-extension dive to smother the ball, and then somehow touched the second base bag for a force-out. Since the Pandas won by one, the sensational effort will secure itself in the memory bank as a potential championship saver.
“I was just trusting my instincts,” said Manfre. “I just kind of like threw myself out there.”
Her extremely appreciative pitcher refused to downplay Manfre’s contribution.
“It was the greatest play I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Sullivan. “That was a game changer right there. If she didn’t make that play, I don’t even know what would have happened. That was awesome.”
As Manfre dove for the ball, senior second baseman Kerri Quinn raced toward second base.
“She was on the move,” said Quinn. “She stretched for it. I was covering the bag. I wasn’t sure if she was gonna toss it or not. She just dove for it. She made an awesome play.”
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Callahan might have been the most relieved person in the complex after the game-clinching strikeout. She admitted that the entire last inning, particularly when the tying run reached third, was nerve wracking. She fully realized that a passed ball or wild pitch would have probably forged a tie game.
“Blocking isn’t by best,” said the diminutive catcher. “I knew I had to keep it in front . . . be a goalie. Thank God I didn’t get one in the dirt.”
Then again, Callahan had known the outcome since the first inning.
“When we scored three runs, I knew we were going to win,” she said. “I knew.”
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Tom McNulty inherited B-P’s head coaching job this year after having been an assistant coach, which has allowed him to watch the younger Pandas steadily improve to the point of becoming Catholic League champs.
On the obvious guess that he was feeling a lot of pride in his players: “Yeah,” he said, with a hint of filling up emotionally.
On Manfre’s brilliant defensive stop in the fourth inning: “That picks the whole team up. It really helped settle them down.”
On Sullivan’s steady hurling.
“She really buckled down. She came through.”
2017 PCL Softball Championship
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The last time Bonner-Prendergast captured the Catholic League softball title was on May 22, 2013. The Pandas’ opponent? St. Hubert. The Pandas now face Public League champion Franklin Towne Charter at noon Wednesday at Arcadia University.
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)
Tag(s): Home Schools Philadelphia Catholic Softball Philadelphia Catholic League Arch. Carroll Softball Arch. Ryan Softball Arch. Wood Softball Bishop McDevitt Softball Bonner & Prendie Softball Cardinal O'Hara Softball Conwell-Egan Softball John W. Hallahan Softball Lansdale Cath. Softball Little Flower Softball Saint Hubert Softball Neumann/Goretti Softball West Catholic Softball