by The Magnificat Blue Streaks hosted the Brunswick Blue Devils. A fourth-inning masterclass allowed the Blue Devils to gain a significant lead, and they never looked back, ultimately winning the contest 6-0.
Junior pitcher Marylynn Kennedy started things off by walking senior outfielder Elena Osowski. A wild pitch from Kennedy would allow Osowski to take off from first base and reach second. The Blue Devils’ bats were on fire to start the first inning as sophomore Lilliana Leichliter was about a foot away from a homerun but was able to pick up a double, ultimately bringing Osowski home to make the score 1-0 going in the bottom of the first.
Sophomore Haley Wheeler was able to start things off strong for the Blue Streaks as she was able to pick up a base hit. Magnificat had a couple more good hits from senior Kate Hershey and sophomore Clare Wopershall, however, both were caught by sophomore second basemen Abbey Nemec and senior outfielder Delainey Andolek to end the inning.
The Blue Devils started the second inning swinging at everything. However, Magnificat was able to pick three quick outs to end the top of the second inning. The second inning was a faster inning that saw both sides get three outs quickly, ultimately ending the inning.
Senior Ava Beas was able to start the third inning off strong with a bunt that was able to get her onto first base. Beas would then go on to steal second base. Beas was super aggressive in this inning, looking to put more runs on the board for her team, however, the Blue Streaks were able to pick up a huge double play to prevent Brunswick from extending the lead. Magnificat would then catch a popout to end the top of the third. Junior pitcher Kiley Williams was able to end the bottom of the third super-fast. The Blue Devils picked up a quick out, followed by Williams’s back-to-back strikeouts.
The bats were super-hot for the Blue Devils in the fourth inning. Nemec was able to pick up a base hit followed by another base hit from Gabriella Diligente to advance Nemec to second. Sophomore Ava Williams was able to pick up yet another base hit for Brunswick, however, Magnificat was able to get Nemec out as she ran to third.
Everyone was getting base hits for the Blue Devils, this time seeing Andolek get one, ultimately loading the bases for Brunswick. Beas came right back to get a base hit to bring in a run to make the score 2-0. The bases were still loaded for the Blue Devils, and Williams was able to steal home after a wild pitch from Magnificat. This made the score 3-0.
The Blue Streaks were facing a bunch of pitching struggles to start the fourth inning, which resulted in a mound visit to hopefully regain the composure of Kennedy. The Blue Devils would then be able to pick up one more run to make the score 4-0 before Magnificat could finally get out of the top of the fourth inning. Brunswick’s defense played very well in the fourth and was able to end the fourth inning relatively quickly.
The bats for the Blue Devils continued to be red hot as Leichliter was able to hit a homerun to make the score 5-0. Diligente was able to come right back and pick up a double of her own, and the pitching struggles for Magnificat continued late. An error from the Blue Streaks allowed a hitter to get onto first and Diligente to get on third. Beas came right back with a bunt to get the bases loaded; however, Magnificat found a way to finally get out of the inning without allowing any more runs. Williams, for the Blue Devils, was able to start the bottom of the fifth with two straight strikeouts, and Brunswick was able to pick up the final out to move into the sixth inning.
Magnificat started the sixth inning with a pitching change, replacing Kennedy with senior Erin Carney. The pitching change seemed to work very well to start as the Blue Streaks were able to put together three quick outs to head into the bottom of the sixth.
Brunswick was able to start the bottom of the sixth super strong with two quick outs. However, Williams would then go on to walk back-to-back batters to put one on first and second for the Blue Streaks. A wild pitch from the Blue Devils resulted in both runners advancing, ultimately getting one on second and third. Brunswick would make a pitching change, replacing Williams with Diligente where she was able to pick up a quick strikeout to go into the final inning.
The seventh inning started with Carney walking Nemec to get on first base. Diligente hammered the ball to left field but was robbed by freshman Camilla Riordan before it turned into a homerun. Nemec would steal second, and Williams was able to hit the ball down the line to pick up a double and send Nemec home to make the score 6-0. Magnificat was able to finish the top of the seventh, and Brunswick would respond with a quick out and back-to-back strikeouts from Diligente to end the game.
The player of the game for the Brunswick Blue Devils was Ava Beas, and the player of the game for the Magnificat Blue Streaks was Haley Wheeler.
