Katie Convey, a freshman out of Norwood Fontbonne Academy, delivers a pitch for Mount St. Joe. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Throughout the softball season, letdowns in just one innings or two have hampered the Mount St. Joseph Academy squad, and the pattern persisted right into last Wednesday's 2019 season finale on the Magic's home field.

Coming off of a victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh High School the day before, the Mounties answered an early run by visiting Pope John Paul II with one of their own in the bottom of the first.

The Panthers slowly pulled ahead after that, picking up one run in the third and two in the fifth. It was still 4-1 going into the seventh inning, but the home fans' hopes of a successful late rally faded, as the visitors were able to pile on eight more runs in their last turn at bat.

The Magic, 3-15 overall, had their most productive stint with the sticks in the home half of the seventh, but the two runs that resulted still left PJP with a 12-3 victory.

Junior Paige Parisi is the number one pitcher for the Mount, but on this occasion, the battery featured a pair of Norwood-Fontbonne Academy graduates, freshman pitcher Katie Convey and sophomore catcher Clare Moxey.

With two outs in the top of the first inning, PJP got on the scoreboard with a walk and an RBI single up the middle. Mount senior Lilly Doyle led off the home half with a walk, then stole second while the next two batters struck out. A base hit down the third base line by another senior, Kailyn Muhl, tied the game at 1-1.

The Mount's junior shortstop, Natalie Sheridan, throws to first base for a putout. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

The only run scored over the next three innings went in the visitors' column at the top of the third. With one out on the Mount in the bottom of the fourth, junior Alex Lerro got to first base when she was hit by a pitch, and she went around to third when PJP mishandled a bunt by Convey.

Junior Olivia Nace went in to run for the MSJ pitcher, and she stole second before a walk to Moxey loaded the bases.

A pop-up that invoked the infield fly rule kept the runners where they were, and all three were then left stranded when a strikeout ended the inning.

The Magic would suffer the consequences of that at the top of the fifth. They got the first two batters out, but then a walk followed by a pair of base hits brought in two runs for the Panthers, who now led 4-1.

The Mounties were unable to reduce their deficit as they left two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth, and did the same thing in the bottom of the sixth. Chances of a comeback diminished sharply at the top of the seventh frame, as the Panthers churned out eight runs on eight hits.

To their credit, the Mounties continued to battle in their last turn at bat. Junior Natalie Sheridan drew a walk and then remained on first as the next batter struck out. She went to third when Muhl slammed a double over the head of the left fielder, and then both runners scored when freshman Paige Moore drove a double down the line in left. A pair of groundouts ended the afternoon's action.