YELLOWJACKETS CLINCH FIRST IN B CONF. SOFTBALL

By Mike Buchanan
mbuchanan@digitalsports.com

 

(See below for video clips and interviews)

Chapelgate Christian clinched first place in the IAAM B Conference softball race yesterday thanks to a fourth-inning rally and Meghan Black’s complete game shutout, as the Yellowjackets blanked Notre Dame Prep, 4-0.

Chapelgate came into the game with a record of 11-2 and Notre Dame Prep was at 10-3. An NDP win would have resulted in first place for the Blazers, due to the tie-breaker.

This game was about as even as one could be on the stats page, and on the field. Each team had five hits. Each team had one extra base hit, a double. Each team was flawless in the field with no errors.  Each starter went the distance. Both Meghan Black for CCA and Mary Beth Wisniewski for NDP allowed five hits. Both allowed just one walk. Black had 10 strikeouts; Wisniewski had nine.

The difference in the game was that Chapelgate was able to string together a few base runners into a three-run binge in the fourth. NDP was unable to get the timely hit to produce any runs, despite the same number of base-runners.

Both teams went scoreless through the first three frames. NDP had a great opportunity in the second, as senior CF Maggie Quinn led off the inning with a double and was sacrificed to third. But Black retired the next two batters to escape the jam.

The Blazers threatened again in the third, getting two hitters aboard on a single and a walk, but Black got a strikeout to end the inning.

In the fourth, Lauren Ahrens singled to start things off for Coach John Isaac’s team, hitting a hard shot that glanced off the first baseman’s glove. Julia Groves followed with a pop single to shallow right field. Cori Bohn grounded out, but in doing so she advanced the two runners to second and third. With Jaclyn Harbison at bat, the first run came across on a wild pitch. Harbison coaxed a walk, and then Black helped her own cause, with a ground-out to second base that plated another run. Amanda Webster then doubled to knock in the third run, and CCA had a quick 3-0 lead.

Black got the Blazers out in order in the bottom half, on just five pitches, and then retired the side one-two-three in the fifth, as well. Black looked strong, and CCA looked to be in command.

Coach Emily Lessner’s NDP team got another great chance to push across some runs in the sixth, but fell short again, unable to get the big hit. With a runner aboard, Quinn lined a clean single to center for her second hit of the game, and NDP had runners at first and third. But Black ended the threat, getting Erin Littleton to ground out, pitcher to first.

Chapelgate put an insurance run on the board in the seventh. Shannon Bishop laced a lead-off double to the gap in right-center. After a steal of third, the pinch runner scored on a ground-out by Christina Hahn, and CCA led 4-0. The way Black was throwing, it was going to take a huge rally to overcome a four-run deficit, and that was not to be. Caroline Ladzinski gave a glimmer of hope for NDP with a one-out single to right, but Black got the final two outs via strikeout, and a 4-0 win was in the books – along with first place.

Both teams got excellent pitching and both teams had solid defense. Timely hitting proved to be the difference.

“We were relaxed at the plate and got some runners aboard, but just couldn’t capitalize,” said Lessner. “Meghan Black pitched a great game, her third in a row – hats off to her. We wanted to play error-free defense, after having six errors against them last time, and we did that today. And Mary Beth pitched an excellent game as well, we just couldn’t get the key hits today.”

Chapegate began the season with a 1-0 loss to defending champ Maryvale. Since then, the Yellowjackets have run off 12 wins in 13 games, the other loss also to Maryvale.

Isaac and team were obviously pleased. “We are really clicking right now, playing sound softball. We got great pitching, solid defense and were able to manufacture some runs. It’s great to win first in such a tough league, and we are looking forward to the play-offs,” he said. “We’ve been close the last three years. I think this is our year.”

Thus the Amazing Race, where any one of four teams could have claimed the top spot over the past two weeks, was finally settled on the last day of the regular season. The top four are CCA (12-2), followed by Maryvale, NDP and McDonogh, all three finishing at 10-4. Due to the tie-breaker, Maryvale gets the second seed, NDP the third and McDonogh the fourth.

If the B Conference play-offs next week are half as exciting as the regular season race, it will make for some exciting softball to watch.
 

Chapelgate Christian 4, Notre Dame Prep 0

CCA    000     300     1   -   4   5   0
NDP    000     000     0   -   0   5   0

Black and Groves; Wisniewski and Stampf.
2B: CCA – Webster, Bishop; NDP – Quinn.