The Mount shortstop, sophomore Natalie Sheridan, looks the ball into her glove before throwing to first base for an out. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

When a softball team leaves a number of runners on base early in a game, you always wonder if they will have needed those players to score by the time the contest is over.

That was the case for visiting Mount St. Joseph Academy last Tuesday after the Magic left the bases loaded at the top of the first and stranded two more runners in the third inning. The Magic had scored once in the first and still led 1-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, but there the host Jems of Villa Joseph Marie scored three times to take over the lead.

Strengthening their position with five more runs in the fifth frame, the Jems went on to win, 8-1, and improve to 4-3 within the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies. A 5-3 record was the outcome for the Mount, which had been on the winning end of an 8-1 score in a league victory over Gwynedd Mercy Academy the day before.

Mount St. Joe’s number one pitcher, sophomore Paige Parisi, had thrown in the Gwynedd game, so at Villa Joe the next day the Magic went with senior Lila Moore. She is normally the team’s centerfielder, and this was only her third pitching appearance this spring. The Mounties were also missing their regular starting catcher, but fortunately sophomore Olivia Nace has a good deal of experience at that position and was able to step in.

At the top of the first, Moore immediately began to help her own cause by leading off with a single to left field. She reached second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Jill Baum, then Parisi drew a walk from Villa Joe pitcher Gabby Hocker. Next, junior Kailyn Muhl drove the ball up the middle for an RBI single.

Junior Lily Doyle, a rising leader in student government at the Mount, hit a ball that dropped down along the right field line for a single, loading the bases. No more Mount runners came home though, as VJM’s Hocker got out of her dilemma with a strike-out followed by a ground-out.

The Jems left two runners on base at the bottom of the first, then both sides went down in order in the second inning.

MSJ’s Baum began the third with a walk, then stayed put as the next batter popped out. On a grounder put in play by Muhl, Baum beat out a Villa throw to second base, and the visitors had players on first and second with one out. Once more, the Jems’ Hocker was able to bear down when she needed to, dispensing with the MSJ threat with a pair of strike-outs.

In the top of the fourth, sophomore Katie Tausz led off with a base hit, but again the Mount was unable to add to its slim 1-0 advantage.

Villa finally made the Magic pay for lost opportunities in the bottom of round four, starting out with a double and a single and later taking advantage of some Mount miscues to move ahead 3-1 in the game.

Mount St. Joe tried to start a two-out rally in the fifth, as Parisi ripped a single through the left side of the infield and then got to second when Muhl walked. A pop-up retired the visiting side though, and the offensive momentum Villa had established in the fourth inning grew in the home half of the fifth.

Two singles set the table for a three-run homer by clean-up hitter Elayna Tsiouplis, and in all the home team got in five runs, sticking the eventual 8-1 final score on the board.

Each school only got three batters to the plate in the sixth inning, and Mount sophomore Hannah McKenna started the top of the seventh with a walk. Three straight outs followed, though, and the Jems collected the “W.”

The Mounties had already beaten AACA teams that had defeated Villa Joseph Marie, so this can be put down as just one of those “off” days when things get out of hand. The Magic definitely have the ability to get back on track and put some more marks in the win column.