The trio of (from left to right) Sarah Meil, Kelly Cunningham and Rachel Kelley has helped St. Paul's School become a contender in the IAAM C Conference. The Gators advanced to their second straight title game with a 12-4 decision over Beth Tfiloh Thursday afternoon.
John Meil (center) talks to the St. Paul's softball team after Thursday's semifinal win. The Gators will play defending champ Towson Catholic in the IAAM C finals, Sunday at 1 p.m. at Harford Community College.
A few years ago, St. Paul’s School softball team was trying to keep its collective head above water. Now, it’s a win away from a championship.
The Gators advanced to the IAAM C Conference finals for the second straight year with a 12-4 decision over Beth Tfiloh in a semifinal match. Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Harford Community College, St. Paul’s will meet Towson Catholic for the title.
Katherine Mack and Lizzy Zimmerman each drove in three runs for the Gators (13-4 overall), and Sarah Meil reached base five times and scored four runs. Sara Shefter had two hits and two RBI for Beth Tfiloh (9-4).
In 2005, St. Paul’s won just three games. Since then, the Gators have won 36. St. Paul’s coach John Meil said perservance has been the defining factor.
“The program has taken a long time to come together,” said Meil, who returned all but one player from last spring’s 15-2 squad. “We have a great group of girls from the first player to the 13th player. I think the experience level has grown.”
“We’ve basically done a 180 [degree turn],” said St. Paul’s catcher Rachel Kelley. “We have a coach who believes in us, and don’t doubt our abilities.”
The Gators scored in all but one inning against Beth Tfiloh, including a three-run fourth inning to blow the contest open. Zimmerman singled to deep centerfield brought in Kelley, Joanna Durham and Kylie O’Neil-Mullin.
Kelly Cunningham and Sarah Meil opened the fifth with single and walk, respectively, then Mack singled home Cunningham. Meil came in to score on an errant pickoff throw by Beth Tfiloh, extending the Gators’ advantage to 8-1.
A single by Rebecca Opfer and an error allowing Mary Stone Eddins to reach, set up St. Paul’s in the sixth. Cunningham doubled down the rightfield line to score Opfer and Eddins. Mack and Cunningham each had two hits to lead the Gators’ 11-hit attack.
“It took a little while for the bats to get going. We got some hits from the bottom end of our lineup which is part of lineup that’s been doing very well for us,” said John Meil, who’s in his third season, and is assisted by Kendall Jamison. “We tend to capitalize on other team’s mistakes.”
Sarah Meil took advantage of an error and three walks to score the four runs. On the mound, the sophomore righthander allowed five hits and struck seven.
The Gators will try to come full circle Sunday afternoon as they meet defending champ Towson Catholic, which eliminated St. John’s Catholic, 23-4, in Thursday’s other semifinal. The Owls defeated St. Paul’s, 6-1, in last year’s finals behind a no-hitter from Jessica Butler, who’ll be back on the mound Sunday.
“It’s going to be a tough rematch,” said John Meil, whose team dropped a 4-3 decision to Towson Catholic early in the regular season. “We got a few tricks up our sleeve, a few different things from last year.”
“We want to prove ourselves,” said Kelley. “Everyone knows how great they are. We just want to show we’re of equal ability.”
IAAM C Conference semifinals
St. Paul’s School 12, Beth Tfiloh 4Beth Tfiloh 001 001 2 - 4 5 4
St. Paul’s 120 324 x - 12 11 3
Shefter and Harris; Meil and Kelley. 2B: SP-Cunningham, Kelley, Mack, Zimmerman.