SOFTBALL: Bats Are Swinging in the Catholic League, See Who's Off to a Grand-Slam Start in This Week's PCL Round-Up (4/19)

PHILADELPHIA – It’s what every ballplayer imagines. It’s what Taylor Schwartz actually experienced.

In a key battle between two undefeated teams on a frigid Monday afternoon, Schwartz obliterated two-strike changeup and sent a grand slam over the left-field fence to lift Archbishop Wood to a 9-5 Catholic League victory over visiting Archbishop Ryan.

The senior had never before clubbed a high school home run or engineered a walk-off hit. She can scratch those two wishes off her bucket list.

Wood vs. Ryan - PSD Photos by Kathy Leister

“Walking up to the plate, I was very anxious considering my other two times up to bat I struck out,” said Schwartz. “After my third time making contact up the middle, I knew what I had to do.

“I saw the ball made contact with my bat and knew at that moment that I got the job done. The feeling of hitting my first home run in a huge game like that was a feeling that I will never forget.”

Schwartz can thank junior varsity player Shelby Pillar for filming her historic feat. Behind the fenced-in dugout, Pillar captured the build-up, the swing, disappointed Ryan players turning their heads to watch the ball’s super-quick flight, and then lots of screaming from ecstatic Vikings who rushed to the plate to greet the newest member of the Babe Ruth Club.

“It was a dream come true,” said Schwartz. “Running around the bases with the biggest smile on my face, turning around third and seeing my teammates at home plate was just unbelievable. It was a team effort and I couldn’t have done it without the help of them. Knowing that I helped my team win the game was such a rewarding feeling, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.”

Wood senior Taylor Schwartz hits 1st ever home run vs. Arch. Ryan - It just so happened to be a GRAND SLAM! Video by Shelby Pillar:

Schwartz’s heroics highlight the first third of the Catholic League’s 12-game regular season, one that should be much further along than it is. But there’s no getting around bad weather when it comes to high school softball. Annoying and plentiful cancelations and postponements are simply part of the March-April terrain.

Despite a large horde of games needing to be re-scheduled, however, a clear picture has evolved and emphatically suggests that the Catholic League will feature a handful of favorites, a few overachievers, and six teams that will battle it out for the final playoff spots over the next three weeks.

“It started off snowing and rainy and very cold,” said Lansdale Catholic senior Lauren Crim. “A few outside practices could be held. With a young team, that is not always easy.”

From a veteran’s perspective, Crim knows there are no excuses. You need to be ready whether it’s 70 degrees or 40 and lightly snowing, like it was at various venues Tuesday afternoon.

If the games can begin, they usually finish. In time, the contests will start becoming better played defensively and warm-weather hitters will watch their batting averages rise.

That’s when parity truly begins.

“I would say the league is far more competitive and equal than it has been in the past years,” said Bonner-Prendergast senior Meghan Sullivan. “I truly believe any given day anyone can win and I am excited for our team to progress, grow as both players and teammates, and put up a good fight.”

The defending champion Pandas are off to a terrific start. Their 5-0 record joins Archbishop Wood (4-0) and Cardinal O’Hara (2-0) as the only unbeaten teams.

Allison & Kaitlyn Martin rack in the runs for MBAP in game vs. Little Flower - Video by John Knebels

Right behind that trio in order of winning percentage are Archbishop Ryan (4-1), St. Hubert (3-1), Conwell-Egan (5-2), and Lansdale Catholic (4-2). The aforementioned six squads searching for a spark are John W. Hallahan (1-3), Archbishop Carroll (1-3), Little Flower (0-3), Neumann-Goretti (0-4), West Catholic (0-5), and Bishop McDevitt (0-5).

Although they dropped a tearjerker to Wood, players from Archbishop Ryan like what have seen so far.

Ryan's Annie Cashman takes a swing at the plate - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister

“I think at first we weren't completely sure how this season would be, because last year our hitting was just okay and we knew that we would have a starting freshman pitcher, but I am very pleased with us right now,” said senior Annie Cashman. “We are hitting much better off of very good pitchers and our pitcher is doing better than I could have expected. I think if we play good, there is no way we shouldn't go very far in this league.”

Cashman was referring to freshman hurler Dana Bell. Among Bell’s highlights was a two-hit, nine-strikeout effort against Lansdale Catholic. In the 6-1 win, Cashman and junior teammate Meghan Kidd each had three hits while Sarah Vargas added a double and a triple.

In a 9-3 victory at Archbishop Carroll, Bell struck out 11 and knocked in three runs. Among the 13 Ryan hits was a home run by Kidd.
“This season so far has been going great,” said senior catcher Hayley Burns. “Dana Bell is awesome. I love catching for her and I feel like we make it fun for each other. However, we do make mistakes, silly ones that we’re still cleaning up, but I can't wait to see where this season takes us.”

Acknowledging her team has not won a league game yet, Little Flower senior Nicole Lemongelli remains upbeat.

“We haven’t started out our season as best as we could,” said Lemongelli. “We’re giving every game our all, but we often have one inning that costs us the game in the end. I think we need to work on bouncing back from minor errors that occur in those innings instead of dwelling on them.

A young Little Flower squad huddles in for a game-plan - PSD Photo by John Knebels

“I do think, though, that despite what our records are saying, we’re playing well as a team and using each other and each other’s abilities as best as we can. Our record does not show the true talent of our team, and I think that after these past few games, we’re going to quickly learn from those mistakes and have a much better outcome.”

AROUND THE BASES: Conwell-Egan has endured quite the rollercoaster ride. Consider . . . Freshman Emily Murphy knocked in six runs and had three of her squad’s 13 hits as St. Hubert defeated Conwell-Egan, 14-2 . . . In a nine-inning classic, Lansdale Catholic beat Conwell-Egan, 7-6, on a walk-off wild pitch that scored freshman Jenna Person with the winning tally. Aided by senior Lauren Crim’s two doubles, the Crusaders trailed 5-2 and scored four runs in the sixth before a Conwell-Egan run in the seventh necessitated two extra frames . . . Conwell-Egan turned a 5-0, sixth-inning deficit into a 6-5 win over Little Flower with a four-run sixth and winning pitcher Amber Stanfield’s walk-off single that scored Emily Wang in the bottom of the seventh . . . In another C-E comeback, the Eagles trailed John W. Hallahan throughout the game before three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth supplied a 7-6 win . . . Hallahan rebounded to topple Archbishop Carroll, 6-2, thanks to five runs in the top of the eighth inning, making a three-hit winner out of Maddie McBride . . . Bonner-Prendergast remains the team to beat, scoring 52 runs in three of its wins and capturing two others by scores of 10-9 over Lansdale Catholic and 4-2 over Hallahan.

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