Tye Chandler, Sports Editor
05-07-2008
The wins just keep coming for the junior high Lady Crusader softball team as it topples one Dallas Parochial League opponent after another.
St. John now stands at 7-0-1 after victories on Friday and Sunday. In a Friday makeup game at home, the Lady Crusaders wiped the floor – or in this case, the field – with St. Bernard in a 20-2 win. St. John reached
the five-run maximum in all four innings. “We were ready to play on Friday and everybody was hitting against a team with weak pitching,” said coach Teddy Calvert.
“We definitely made the best of a game we were supposed to win.”
Offensively, Kamren Bragg and Megan Hickman each connected on three hits, while Abby Liska and Ashley Zmolik added a pair of their own.
“Megan picked up her offense and she’s always been strong for us [at shortstop],” Calvert said.
“Kamren slapped the ball from the left side in her first at bat and went to the right-hand side the rest of the game. Abby is a consistent producer for us no matter who we play and she puts so much pressure on teams with her base running. When the catcher throws the ball back to the pitcher, Abby is always a threat to steal home.
“I try to get the other girls to feed off of her aggressiveness and confidence. Ashley had a rough time on the bases in that game, but she did hit the ball and probably won’t make the same mistakes again.”
Laura Gomez, Lacie Farmer and Candice Hager came away with one hit apiece. As for the pitching duties, Bragg dominated as she usually does with a two-hitter and six strikeouts.
“Kamren scares a lot of batters in this league [as a pitcher] and that was the case Friday,” Calvert said.
Sunday brought a better ballgame on the road in an 8-6 victory over Prince of Peace (POP). The Lady Crusaders connected on seven of the game’s nine hits and would’ve won going away if not for an uncharacteristically poor defensive inning.
POP enjoyed a brief 1-0 lead in the first before Liska drilled a two-run homer to score Breanna Calvert (walk). Though St. John was facing a left-handed pitcher for the first time all season, Abby was certainly able to adjust.
“Their pitcher had good speed and mechanics, but Abby carried that ball all the way to the center-field fence,” Calvert said.
“We’d been trying to prime up for the speed of St. Patrick’s pitcher (St. John’s undefeated opponent this Friday), so last Friday’s game against St. Bernard hurt us a little bit. Fortunately, the girls were able to adjust on Sunday and pull it out.”
The Lady Crusaders went up 3-1 in the second inning when Bragg followed a Hager single with an RBI single. Calvert was pleased to see his team not sit on the early lead.
“Candace is a seventh grader new to the team who’s playing like a veteran,” the coach said.
“You can tell in practice she’s really listening and trying to do what we’re asking of her.”
Seemingly in great control heading to the third, St. John quickly found itself trailing 6-3 as the team committed four errors and issued two walks. POP connected on a lone single to score all those runs, before Bragg came on in relief of Calvert and was finally able to get her team off the field with a pair of strikeouts.
“A couple of times this year we’ve fallen apart defensively in an inning and it’s mental lapses more than anything else,” Calvert said.
“Hopefully we put that stuff behind us against St. Patrick.”
Recovering to show why they have yet to lose a game, the Lady Crusaders stormed back in their third for four runs and a 7-6 advantage. Liska opened with a triple and then scored on an error committed when Hickman put the ball in play.
Farmer reached base on a dropped third strike and Gomez followed with a two-RBI double. Gomez eventually came home on a passed ball for what proved to be the winning run.
“Abby got us off to a great start in the inning and then Megan forced the defense to make a mistake,” the coach said.
“Laura’s hit was really big for us when you look at the final score. She’s really consistent and getting better all the time.”
Looking for a bit more breathing room after a good defensive fourth inning, St. John plated one more run in its fourth to finalize the score. Liska reached base on a fielder’s choice and stole home prior to a Hickman double. Neither team scored in the fifth as the blue team put another win in the books.
“We’re considering making Megan team captain because she’s vocal in the dugout and on the field – making sure the other girls always know the situation,” Calvert said.
St. John will now host fellow-undefeated St. Patrick in a makeup game on Friday at 6 p.m.
“I think it was good for us to be in a close competitive game before St. Patrick to make the girls realize we can be beat if we don’t bring our A-game,” the coach said.
“We need to keep our bats alive and cut out some of our mental errors.”
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