O'Connell's sophomore second baseman Vivian Angirsani can't get the throw as Cardinals reach second safely.
The Bishop Ireton Softball team defeated cross town rival St Stephens/St Agnes Tuesday 6-4 to advance to the semi final game of the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association championship. Strong defense, timely hitting and aggressive base running were the keys to this big win. The season ended however, with Bishop O’Connell’s 4th consecutive win over the Cardinals in the semifinals in Petersburg. It was the Knights final win of the year as they fell the next day 5-2 to Liberty Christian in the championship game.
Ireton jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over St Stephens as lead off batter Micki Crouch took the game’s second pitch deep to center field for a triple. On the next at bat, Heather Pearson’s hard shot to the pitcher was fielded cleanly but then thrown over the first baseman’s head allowing Crouch to score and Pearson to advance to second base. Debbie Ward then collected her first of 4 hits on the day, driving in Pearson making the score 2-0. Pressuring the defense, Ward worked her away around the bases on a stolen base, a dropped third strike and then scored on a wild pitch. SSA came back in their half of the first with a walk and a double to make the score 3-1.
The Cardinals continued to pressure the SSA defense in the second inning. Emily Quinn and Caroline Boddie used their quick feet to reach base on consecutive bunts and advanced through stolen bases and wild pitches. Debbie Ward then drove them home with a double to left field extending the lead 5-1.
Pitcher Micki Crouch then settled in striking out the side in the second and relying upon good defense behind her to keep SSA off the board until the 6th inning. She would go on to finish the day with 9 strikeouts while allowing only 4 hits. SSSA rallied in the 6th with a pair of singles, a walk and a fielding error to score three and make the score 5-4. The rally was stopped when catcher Meghan Pearson nailed an SSSA baserunner at second base as she tried to advance on a throw to home from the outfield.
To lead off the final inning, Micki Crouch smacked the ball to the centerfield fence and sprinted around the bases for an inside the park home run making the score 6-4. The Saints threatened again in the bottom of the seventh. After a quick first out, the lead off batter reached second base with a hit to right field. Then with the Saint’s big bats on deck, the number two hitter put a bunt down the first base line. Crashing first baseman Katie Kiesner fielded the ball cleanly and with great poise threw it to a covering Susie Rhodes for the second out of the inning. Coming off the bag, Rhodes alertly spotted the Saint’s runner racing for home and froze her on the basepath. The trapped runner dove back to third where she was greeted with a hard tag from Heather Pearson for the final out of the game. The Saint’s big bats never got to the plate.
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