Whenever St. Vincent Pallotti (10-8) and Archbishop Spalding (9-2) step on the softball field, fans can expect a good battle.
The same was true Monday, as Spalding won, 6-5, in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland contest at Randazzo Park in Severn.
The game was tied in the bottom of the sixth when Spalding senior Lauren O?Malley crushed a double into the left-center field alley, plating teammate Meghan Van Meter, who had reached on an error. That run would put the Cavaliers up for good, as Pallotti failed to score in the top of the seventh.
“That was my last chance to prove myself, because I?d been hitting a lot of balls into the ground,” O?Malley said.
Pallotti got on the board first in the second inning, before Spalding responded with a pair in the bottom half of the frame.
The Cavaliers would rally again in the bottom of the fifth.
After the Panthers put up two runs in the fourth and another run in the fifth, Spalding sent nine batters to the plate, with the first seven reaching base. They pounded out six hits, and plated three runs in the frame.
Eight of Spalding?s starters recorded hits, with the team cranking out twelve total in the game.
In the pitcher?s circle, UMBC-bound right-handed starter Stephanie Weigman battled through a couple tough innings.
Other than the five hits she spread across the fourth and fifth innings, the senior from Spalding was solid. She struck out 10 and picked up the victory in the key contest, that keeps her team in sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
“She comes out and gets ahead of the batters, and keeps them guessing and going after her pitches,” Trumpler said. “And if her pitches aren?t working, she goes to the other ones and is not afraid to throw them.”
The Cavaliers don?t have much time to rest before hitting the field Tuesday to battle Seton Keough in another key IAAM game. But O?Malley admits these victories are the easiest to savor.
“When you?re playing a better team, it always feels better in the end when you win,” she said.
IAAM RIVALRY SPOTLIGHT:
» O?Malley, a senior, is destined for UMBC in the fall.
» Last time these two softball powers met, Pallotti picked up a 3-2 win thanks to a walk-off single by Lynn Brown in the eighth inning. That game came on March 30. Brown was 1-for-1 with a sacrifice fly and three RBI on Monday.
» Pallotti?s Lauren Fusco came into the game with an ERA of 0.85 ERA.
» Pallotti recently returned from a five-day trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where the teamparticipated in the Grand Strand Classic. Battling teams from New York, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, the Panthers went 3-2. Pallotti is back in action Tuesday, visiting John Carroll at 4 p.m
