Heads-up play by Kane gives O’Hara the edge
UPPER DARBY — Kaela Kane’s plan all along was to take the ball the other way.
Cardinal O’Hara’s slick-fielding, hot-hitting shortstop — she was among the county leaders in extra-base hits entering the day — had noticed that Bonner-Prendergast pitcher Jess Knapp was painting the outside corner against her, time and time again.
And she thought … why continue to look at that pitch or try to pull it? She decided she would go with the ball and take it the other way in the eighth inning of a tie game.
It worked.
“To be honest, I watched that pitch the whole game, the outside corner, and I let it go and I let it go. I saw it again, and I was like, I’m going to poke it,’ she said.
Kane floated a single to shallow right field. It dropped in. The Pandas had paid O’Hara’s impressive batting lineup respect the entire game, playing deep most of the time, so Kane knew exactly what she wanted to do. But it was her headiness running the bases that led to O’Hara scoring the go-ahead run in a thrilling, 7-6 win over Bonner-Prendie Tuesday.
Kane never stopped running out the box until she got midway to second base. She froze.
“I knew we had our 3-4-5 hitters coming up,’ Kane said, “but I figured I’d take the chance.’
That chance was to get in a rundown and allow Mary Kate Fenning to barrel on home. There was a play at the dish, but Fenning slid in safely ahead of the tag. Kane pumped her fist as she stood on second base.
Mary Pat Brough, who battled from the circle the entire game, shut the door on another O’Hara (7-3, 6-3) victory in the bottom of the eighth.
“I’ve been on this field too many times when we’ve had close losses,’ Kane said. “I mean, everyone knows it’s the Prendie-O’Hara rivalry, it’s the Catholic League. It’s an awesome win, a team win, one-through-nine.’
O’Hara had enjoyed a 6-1 lead before Bonner-Prendie (4-3) mounted its comeback. O’Hara sophomore third baseman Annmarie Banes hit a rocket to center field for a run-scoring triple to give the Lions a 1-0 advantage in the first inning. Two batters later, catcher Taylor Connor sent a bomb to the hill in right field to make it 2-0.
Banes’ grip-and-rip approach to hitting continues to pay dividends for the Lions. She’s been one of the team’s hitting stars all season, and can flash leather at the hot corner with the best of them.
The triple would be Banes’ lone hit of the afternoon, but it was a sweet-looking 1-for-5. She hit lasers every time she was at the dish. She lined out to left field in the third inning, robbed of two RBIs. In the sixth, she hit a bullet back to Knapp for the final out.
“I get it all the time. When I lock my legs up, it just looks like I’m going to nail the ball when I’m about to swing,’ she said. “That’s what I try to do most of the time. I do go for the singles, but I like to hit more than that. I like to run a lot.’
The Lions are relying big time on young players such as Banes and sophomore Maura Kane, who reached base twice out of the leadoff spot and dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to set up her big sister’s winning hit.
“Those two, my sister up top and (Banes) in the three-hole, they’re so composed,’ Kaela Kane said. “I love it.’
While the Lions earned a key win over their biggest rival, the Pandas deserved a better fate. They began chipping away at a 6-1 deficit in the fourth inning, when nine-hole hitter Knapp rapped a single up the middle to score Caroline Manfre, who led off the frame with a single. They batted around in the fifth. Manfre coaxed a bases-loaded walk, plating Katie McNulty, who stung a one-out double. With two outs, Lexi Carr smacked a seeing-eye single up the middle to make it 6-5 and Laura DiLucia knotted things up with a run-scoring single.
Catcher Melissa Callahan was 2-for-4 in the game.
“We’ve got four freshmen and four sophomores, and they played very well this game. I’m very proud of them,’ B-P coach Eleanor Johnson said. “Jess (Knapp, who is one of two seniors) pitched a phenomenal game, like she always does. (O’Hara’s) got some hitters on their team. I told (her team) that more than likely we’ll see them in the playoffs. No matter where the game is played, it’s always intense.’
