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Robinson's Mound Magic Is Too Much For Lady Vikings
By Kevin L. Hall, The Bulletin
Philadelphia — Dave Hoch must have felt lucky to still have his already-thinning ponytail, because he had to be pulling his hair out yesterday.
Here was his Archbishop Wood softball team in yet another favorable bases-loaded, no-out situation against St. Hubert. It was the same scenario his team had put the Bambies in last May when the two sides met to decide the Catholic League championship. The Vikings came away scoreless that day against Heather Brabazon’s heat as St. Hubert went on to win its first softball league title.
Yesterday, Hoch and his Vikings were back in business playing their season opener, which was also the Bambies’ home opener at Keystone Field in Tacony.
They’d already plated one run to make it a 2-1 game in the top of the fourth, ensuring there would be no scoreless repeat of the championship.
With Brabazon now wearing a Saint Joseph’s jersey, the Vikings had to feel pretty good about adding more runs against Melissa Robinson.
This was the first sign of trouble for the junior hurler, who had struck out eight of the first 11 Wood batters she’d faced, including the first five. And after pitching around left-hander Lisa Seidler, Robinson was tasked with getting three outs while leaving the bags full of baserunners.
A dozen pitches and three strikeouts later, mission completed.
“We felt we could handle the next three behind (Seidler) and we did,” said St. Hubert coach Dave Schafer. “We were calling it so that (her drop-curve) would come in low and toward the hands so they couldn’t do anything with it. And when that’s working, it’s lethal.”
So lethal that Robinson went on to whiff five more en route to 16 total strikeouts, leading St. Hubert to the 5-1 victory. It was the ninth win in a row in the series for the Bambies.
The Lady Vikings (0-1, 0-1) hurt their chances by committing five errors, three throwing and two fielding, which led to two unearned runs.
“Five errors for the week is totally unacceptable, let alone for one game,” Hoch said.
Gina Sciarrone ripped a pair of line-drive singles to lead a seven-hit attack for St. Hubert, which got three RBIs from its bottom three hitters in Lisa Robbins, Mary Kate Foley and Brianna Kenney.
Heavy-hitting Jess Tate produced Wood’s lone run in the crucial fourth with a line single to bring around Sara Yoos. Senior Meg Coates had Wood’s only other hit.
It was obvious the Lady Vikings hadn’t seen much live pitching as Robinson didn’t allow a runner to reach second until the fourth inning. Poor weather cancelled their original league opener with Kennedy-Kenrick as well as two other nonleague contests.
“You’re talking about being together for almost a month and not even really playing,” Hoch said. “We had two scrimmages and that was almost three weeks ago. It’s tough to keep them focused and interested when you’re only practicing.”
Rain wiped out all league openers last Thursday, and the Bambies ran into an improved Neshaminy team, falling 3-0 last Friday.
The Bambies booted the ball around in that loss, something they worked hard at avoiding in the win yesterday.
“We knew that we had to definitely play better defense than we did against Neshaminy,” said Sciarrone, who is headed to Temple. “We needed to put some hits together and that helped.”
The Bambies also wanted to prove that last season’s championship was no fluke in the title game rematch with Wood.
“They wanted revenge from the championship last year, but we weren’t going to let them take it from us, especially at home,” Sciarrone added.
If Robinson continues to deal like she did yesterday, it’s going to be difficult for any PCL team to take the title away from St. Hubert.
Kevin L. Hall can be reached at khall@thebulletin.us
Here was his Archbishop Wood softball team in yet another favorable bases-loaded, no-out situation against St. Hubert. It was the same scenario his team had put the Bambies in last May when the two sides met to decide the Catholic League championship. The Vikings came away scoreless that day against Heather Brabazon’s heat as St. Hubert went on to win its first softball league title.
Yesterday, Hoch and his Vikings were back in business playing their season opener, which was also the Bambies’ home opener at Keystone Field in Tacony.
They’d already plated one run to make it a 2-1 game in the top of the fourth, ensuring there would be no scoreless repeat of the championship.
With Brabazon now wearing a Saint Joseph’s jersey, the Vikings had to feel pretty good about adding more runs against Melissa Robinson.
This was the first sign of trouble for the junior hurler, who had struck out eight of the first 11 Wood batters she’d faced, including the first five. And after pitching around left-hander Lisa Seidler, Robinson was tasked with getting three outs while leaving the bags full of baserunners.
A dozen pitches and three strikeouts later, mission completed.
“We felt we could handle the next three behind (Seidler) and we did,” said St. Hubert coach Dave Schafer. “We were calling it so that (her drop-curve) would come in low and toward the hands so they couldn’t do anything with it. And when that’s working, it’s lethal.”
So lethal that Robinson went on to whiff five more en route to 16 total strikeouts, leading St. Hubert to the 5-1 victory. It was the ninth win in a row in the series for the Bambies.
The Lady Vikings (0-1, 0-1) hurt their chances by committing five errors, three throwing and two fielding, which led to two unearned runs.
“Five errors for the week is totally unacceptable, let alone for one game,” Hoch said.
Gina Sciarrone ripped a pair of line-drive singles to lead a seven-hit attack for St. Hubert, which got three RBIs from its bottom three hitters in Lisa Robbins, Mary Kate Foley and Brianna Kenney.
Heavy-hitting Jess Tate produced Wood’s lone run in the crucial fourth with a line single to bring around Sara Yoos. Senior Meg Coates had Wood’s only other hit.
It was obvious the Lady Vikings hadn’t seen much live pitching as Robinson didn’t allow a runner to reach second until the fourth inning. Poor weather cancelled their original league opener with Kennedy-Kenrick as well as two other nonleague contests.
“You’re talking about being together for almost a month and not even really playing,” Hoch said. “We had two scrimmages and that was almost three weeks ago. It’s tough to keep them focused and interested when you’re only practicing.”
Rain wiped out all league openers last Thursday, and the Bambies ran into an improved Neshaminy team, falling 3-0 last Friday.
The Bambies booted the ball around in that loss, something they worked hard at avoiding in the win yesterday.
“We knew that we had to definitely play better defense than we did against Neshaminy,” said Sciarrone, who is headed to Temple. “We needed to put some hits together and that helped.”
The Bambies also wanted to prove that last season’s championship was no fluke in the title game rematch with Wood.
“They wanted revenge from the championship last year, but we weren’t going to let them take it from us, especially at home,” Sciarrone added.
If Robinson continues to deal like she did yesterday, it’s going to be difficult for any PCL team to take the title away from St. Hubert.
Kevin L. Hall can be reached at khall@thebulletin.us
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