PHILADELPHIA – A Catholic League softball season that had promised potential upsets ended up providing no surprises in the quarterfinals.
Seeds one through four defeated seeds five through eight, leaving regular-season champion Archbishop Ryan, defending CL champion Bonner-Prendergast, Lansdale Catholic, and Archbishop Wood in the “Final Four” semifinals that take place May 23 at La Salle University.
Top-seed Archbishop Ryan used a walk-off hit by junior Erin Woltemate to support the brilliant pitching of freshman Dana Bell and edged visiting eight-seed Cardinal O’Hara, 2-1.
Freshman Lauren Hagy led off the home seventh with a single, followed by a walk to sophomore Sara Vargas. Woltemate then drove an 0-1 pitch into right-center field to score Hagey, and the Ragdolls were onto the next round to face four-seed Archbishop Wood.
“Normally my coach (John Kidwell) has me bunt for a hit, but he had me swinging away,” said Woltemate. “Normally I am nervous but surprisingly I wasn't nervous. I knew we would pull through with a win.
“It was definitely nerve racking when they scored (an unearned run in the sixth to tie the game at 1-1) and that we couldn't get our bats going, but we aren't the type of team to give up so I felt pretty confident. When I got up I just tried to shake the nerves and do the best I could.”
(From left to right): Archbishop Ryan's Erin Woltemate and Annie Cashman - PSD Photo by Mike Gray
In her first-ever playoff game, Bell surrendered a paltry two hits, one walk, and zero earned runs. She struck out four.
Archbishop Ryan freshman pitcher, Dana Bell #26 - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister
“I tried to imagine it was just like every other game to keep the nerves down, which helped a lot,” said Bell. “I took a lot a deep breaths and looked for my team for support.
“In the seventh I just kept reminding myself that it is not just one person winning or losing this game and that I had what it took to finish the inning with no runs. Once we got the three outs and it was our turn to hit, I knew my team was going to get the job done. They want it just as badly as I do, and it showed in that final inning.”
Two-seed Bonner-Prendergast used two big innings to defeat seven-seed John W. Hallahan, 7-2. The Pandas scored three in the first inning and four more in the third. They will now face three-seed Lansdale Catholic.
Senior Meghan Sullivan, recently named the Catholic League’s Most Valuable and Pitcher of the Year, drove in three runs with a bases-clearing double in the first inning. She later scored a run in the third. On the mound, Sullivan struck out five and was the beneficiary of several defensive gems, including a shoe-string snare by junior right fielder Erin Grogan.
“My teammates did a good job of getting on base,” said Sullivan. “I knew we had to score right there because ‘score early and score often’ is what we’ve been going for this year.”
In the four-run third, Bonner-Prendergast sent 10 batters to the plate. Sophomore Mia Falcone drilled a two-run double and later scored when senior Allison Martin was hit by a pitch. The Pandas reached base 11 times – four in the first and seven in the third – on a combination of hits, errors, and walks. The other four innings, they went a composite 12 up and 12 down.
Falcone confirmed that her contribution was a career-high moment.
“I would say so,” she said. “I was just really happy that I delivered for them. We were ahead but we wanted to have that cushion, so it was really important.”
Three-seed Lansdale Catholic did not allow rainy conditions on May 16 to sully its success. Trailing six-seed Conwell-Egan, 1-0, in the bottom of the sixth, the Crusaders scored twice and survived a 2-1 scare. Sophomore pitcher Megan Burns pitched a complete game for the Crusaders, who will meet two-seed and defending champ Bonner-Prendergast.
Down 1-0 in the sixth, sophomore Mary Picozzi led off with a walk. After advancing to second on a wile pitch, Picozzi scored when freshman Julia Marozzi smashed a double. Up next was junior catcher Rebecca Tiley, and her line drive single scored Marozzi with what proved to be the winning run.
“The game was tough but an essential win,” said Picozzi. “The opportunity to play Prendie will be good for us, because we want to come out ready to play better and harder that we did in our early season loss against them.”
Burns complimented her opponent but said neither the Eagles nor poor weather conditions were going to derail the Crusaders.
PCL MVP Meghan Sullivan talks about her hitting & pitching contributions:
Senior Julia Kuneck talks about her four years at Hallahan:
MBAP sophomore Mia Falcone talks about her key two-run double vs. Hallahan:
Hallahan senior Maddy McBride reminisces on her outstanding career:
(Video Interviews by John Knebels)
“It’s always a great game with Egan,” said Burns. “They’re very competitive and have great players.
“Going into the game was exciting and we were ready. The rain and weather meant nothing at all to us. Our team never gave up and that’s the kind of attitude we have going into every game. When an error is made, you tell them, ‘Hey, shake it off, you’ll get the next one.’ We go in as a team, and we win as a team.
“If there’s one quote I will always remember before every game it’s, ‘Enter the game unknown, leave the game unforgettable.’ The game against Egan will always be remembered as an incredible win, but now it’s time to take on Bonner, and we are ready.”
Other than striking out time and again - 16 times in all - four-seed Archbishop Wood was not doing much against five-seed Saint Hubert and junior pitcher Lindsey Davies. Then came the fourth inning.
Several lazy pop-ups that found shallow outfield grass suddenly turned into four runs, and the Vikings went on to defeat the Bambies, 4-0. The victory allows the Vikings to face top-seed Archbishop Ryan.
Archbishop Wood's Kylee Guerrera #1 - Photo Courtesy of Wood Softball
“The win was awesome,” said Wood coach Jackie Ecker. “The girls were relaxed and I told them to get out there and have fun. We set a goal to win the PCL this year. One down and two to go.
“It wasn’t easy. Lindsey Davies pitched a great game, but we were able to capitalize on some mistakes in one inning.”
Sophomore Kylee Guerrera summarized the victory.
“As a team we are playing for each other, not for ourselves,” she said. “We have been working all year for this. The game against St. Hubert’s was another great team win. We picked each other up and had each other’s back the entire game. Our pitcher and defense was strong and we were able to shut them out. Our bats were slow at first but that didn’t stop us.
“We know next game is going to be a tough game, but I have full confidence in our team. Our team has a special bond and each player brings something unique to the game. Every player contributes. We are going to give 110 percent and hopefully come out with a win.”
(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