Lodi trio helped Rams win title
St. Mary’s High’s softball squad needed to beat Bella Vista twice last Wednesday to win its first-ever SacJoaquin Section Division II title, and the Rams did so with a few Lodi residents making bit contributions.
With Carly Morfey in the circle for 9 1/3 innings spread between the two games, St. Mary’s swept to a 9-2 victory in the first game at Arnaiz Softball Complex in Morada, then capped the night with a 4-3 victory.
“I guess we were all really excited and stuff,” Morfey said. “All the seniors wanted to win.”
The others from Lodi are infielders Angelina Gomez and Abigail Parises.
Morfey got the victory in the first game with four innings pitched, allowing two hits and no runs while striking out six batters. Teammate Kiana Parrish finished the game with four strikeouts in three innings.
At the plate, Morfey, batting leadoff, went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Gomez added a single and two RBIs.
Since the Rams came up through the losers bracket in the double-elimination tournament, the victory forced a winner-take-all showdown, which saw Morfey start in the circle, move to shortstop so Parrish could pitch for 1 2/3 innings, then move to pitcher to finish the game. Morfey finished with three runs allowed on six hits across 5
1/3 innings, but hung on to keep St. Mary’s on top. She struck out 10 batters.
“They were definitely a good hitting team. That was their strength,” Morfey said. “We just had to move the ball around a little bit.”
At the plate, Gomez and Morfey both went 2-for-3, with a home run from Morfey and a double from Gomez, who added an RBI. Morfey drove in the other three, and scored once.
St. Mary’s, the third-place team from the TCAL at 9-6 (behind Tracy at 15-0 and Lodi at 10-5), finished the season with a 19-7 overall record.
All three of the Lodi players are seniors. Morfey has signed to play for San Jose State, and Parises is signed to play for University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.