Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Villa Maria rally falls short
“You always want to win, but I’m actually really glad we finally got to play in a game like this. Once you hit the post season, you’re going to find yourself in situations where you have to battle from behind like we did today.” – Villa Maria coach Nicole Hartshorn
MALVERN » Villa Maria tried for some late-inning magic against Villa Joseph Marie in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies softball matchup Thursday. The Hurricanes scored five runs in the sixth, and another in the seventh, but it wasn’t quite enough as they fell, 7-6.
“You always want to win, but I’m actually really glad we finally got to play in a game like this,” said Villa coach Nicole Hartshorn. “Once you hit the post season, you’re going to find yourself in situations where you have to battle from behind like we did today.” The Hurricanes dug themselves an early hole, giving up a pair of runs in the second, and two more in the third, as the Jems were getting the clutch hits at key moments that the Hurricanes were not.
Villa Maria left the bases loaded in the first, and stranded runners in scoring position in both the second and third.
Trailing 4-0 in the sixth, the Hurricanes finally began to string together hits. Alyssa Viscardo got things going with a lead-off double. Singles from Mary Wilcox and pinch-hitter Megan Hartz loaded the bases. Riley Miller singled on a full count to left to bring
in Viscardo.
Marissa Bruder followed with a two-run single. Then, Bri Wright hit a comebacker to the pitcher, who threw wildly to first. Miller scooted home and dove in head first with the tying run.
“Riley was just awesome today,” said Hartshorn. “In every at-bat, every move on the bases, she really came through for us. She’s a heckuva player.”
The Hurricanes briefly grabbed the lead when Fran Deluscio doubled to deep center to cap the five-run inning. But the Jems answered right
back with three in the top half of the seventh on hits from Meghan Alexander, Elayna Tsiaupulis, Brooke Marrell, and Fran Capozzi.
Miller came through once again for Villa Maria, ripping a two-out triple to the fence in the gap in leftcenter field to score Hartz, who had collected her second base hit. But, Miller was stranded there as the Hurricanes fell to 8-2 in the AACA and 10-2 overall, but maintain first place in the league.
“I’m really proud of the way this team battled back,” said Hartshorn. “They never hung their heads or got down on themselves. They just kept pushing until the hits started falling in. That’s
the way you’ve got to play in tight games when not everything is going your way. We might have fallen a little short today, but getting to face these pressure situations can only help in the long run.”