Fontbonne Hall isn’t entering the playoffs on the most auspicious note.
The defending diocesan champion Bonnies softball team appeared like it would run away with the Brooklyn-Queens regular season title, only to see four late losses seemingly put the crown out of reach. Fontbonne missed a chance to lock it up by falling to visiting Archbishop Molloy 3–1 on Senior Day at Dyker Beach Park last Friday.
“Molloy played better,” Bonnies coach Frank Marinello said. “It’s that simple. We blinked. They didn’t.”
The Stanners (6–3) scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning when a hard-hit ball by Camille Sears went under the right fielder’s glove, allowing Sears and Kristen Maurer to reach home and put Molloy up 3–2. The Stanners must now win two of its last three games to claim first place after taking the season series from the Bonnies 2–1. One mistake or a bad inning has seemed to cost Fontbonne (8–4) each time in its defeats.
“All these losses are one inning where we don’t complete our game,” Marinello said.
The miscue spoiled another strong performance from senior ace Nicolette Trapani. She allowed just one earned run on three hits while striking out six. Her wildness — three hit batters — got her in trouble in the first inning, but she allowed just a sac fly to Holy Cross-bound first baseman Taylor Moss that made it 1–0.
Molloy’s starter Alex Yule was just a little bit better, thanks to an excellent change up and curve. The Bonnies managed just three hits, struck out seven, and saw its only run come on a two-out single by Ariana Dillon in the third inning to tie the score at 1–1.
“She has an amazing change up,” Dillon said of Yule. “I have to give that to her. She’s a great pitcher.”
Fontbonne could have scored more in the frame. It appeared Christina Calacione slid past the tag at home trying to score from second on a single to right field by Julia Schalk with one out. The umpire felt otherwise.
“That’s a gamechanger,” Marinello said
Going into the playoffs, which begin next week, off a loss isn’t ideal, but it hasn’t shaken Fontbonne’s confidence. The Bonnies team, which sits in second place, still believes it is capable of bringing home a second-straight diocesan title.
“It feels like we come close to it and then we lose it,” Dillon said of recent games. “But I think in the end we are going to win again.”
