©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mount softball secures spot in AACA tourney
by TOM UTESCHER

Arriving at Merion Mercy last Wednesday, the Mount St. Joseph Magic were expecting to beat a Golden Bears softball team that entered the contest with a 2-9 record within the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies.

Still, when the visitors took a 6-2 decision from Merion, it was more than a run-of-the-mill win for Mount St. Joe, because it moved the Magic a game ahead of the Jems of Villa Joseph Marie in the league standings. The following day would bring losses for both the Mount (0-4 to first-place St. Basil) and Villa Joe (3-13 to second-place Nazareth), but this still allowed the locals, with a 7-7 record in the AACA, to beat out the Jems (6-8) for the final playoff spot in the league tournament. Villa Maria Academy finished third, just ahead of the Mount.

Outhitting their hosts, 10-5, the Magic had Jo Krasnisky hurling the whole way, and she booked eight strike-outs alongside three bases on balls. Lizz Iffrig tossed the entire time for the Golden Bears, striking out two batters and walking one.

Half of the Mount’s scoring occurred in the top of the first inning, which began with hits by Kim Smeltzer and Jackie Seidler. Reaching third on Seidler’s single, Smeltzer broke for home on a passed ball, but the plate ump did not agree with Mount observers that she slid under the tag. The batter at the time, Sarah Woodbury, wound up with an RBI triple to right centerfield, and Woodbury came home with a second MSJ run when Merion could not get a handle on an infield grounder by Theresa Bertels.

Emily McCullogh drove a single through the middle and then Shannon Stocklin got on through a fielder’s choice that netted the Bears a force-out at third. There were still runners on first and second, and the Magic’s third run of the inning scored when Mary Fannon’s shallow fly ball near the right field line fell to earth between two Bears fielders.

The hosts picked up an unearned run in the bottom half, as a player who reached first through an MSJ error later came home on a passed ball.

The 3-1 count stayed on the board until the Mount scored twice at the top of the fifth inning. Seidler led off with a walk and Woodbury singled, and after a strike-out, a Merion error loaded the bases. Stocklin blooped a single behind the second baseman to bring in the first run, and the other scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Fannon.

On the flip side of the fifth, there were two outs and nobody on base when back-to-back triples by Merion’s Lindsay McDonnell and Kaitlyn McDevitt produced the Bears’ second run. MSJ’s Krasnisky then recovered to strike out the next batter, ending the inning. In the top of the seventh, Stocklin’s sacrifice fly to centerfield accounted for the final run of the day.