Back to work.
That is the Fontbonne Hall softball team’s mantra after a second-straight league loss to Mary Louis Academy 4–1 at Dyker Beach Park on April 26 — this one featuring quiet bats and costly mistakes.
“We need a lot of practice,” senior ace Bianca Marletta said. “We need a lot of practice with fielding, everything. We need to work as a team. That’s it.”
The Bonnies missed a chance to take control of the game early. It missed out on a run in the first inning when Natalie LaCognata missed third base after she drove the ball to right-center and was tagged for the final out while trying to retreat back. Mary Louis (3–3) scored its first two runs on throwing errors, which set a poor tone for the rest of the contest.
“It’s all in our head,” Marletta said. “Once you make an error you think about it too much.”
Fontbonne’s bats, which collected seven hits, were relatively quiet outside of two hits apiece from Marletta and eighth- and ninth-place hitters Nicole Fallon and Alex Bertelle. The team’s lone run came thanks to a wild pitch in the second inning that scored Marletta, who tripled, to tie the score at 1–1. Mary Louis did not commit an error.
The Bonnies (3–2) had a chance to break the game open an inning later. Samantha Marletta lined out hard to center field with runners on second and third and no outs. A walk to Elizabeth Tesoriero loaded the bases, but Mary Louis starter Liz Hanover induced a 1–2–3 double play to end the threat.
The lack of execution, for the second-straight game, made for a perturbed coach Frank Marinello.
“You will never win a game if you continue to play like this,” Marinello said he told his club after. “Not in this division.”
Marletta’s only really hiccup in the circle came in the sixth. The senior, who allowed two earned runs on six hits and struck out five, surrendered a solo homer to Hilltoppers slugger Taylor Milata to lead of the frame. A ground-out by Casey Woo plated the second run to give Mary Louis a 4–1 advantage. Milata had three hits and scored twice.
The Bonnies rallied to win the first of three meetings with the Hilltoppers 9–8 back on April 15.
The reasons for Fontbonne’s recent slide are easy to see if you ask its coach.
“If you don’t hit and you don’t catch a ball, you don’t win,” Marinello said. “It’s that simple.”