Abbot, Villa Maria blank the Mount to book return to AAA softball final

WHITEMARSH >> As the Villa Maria softball team celebrated its third, and most important, win of the season Tuesday over league rival Mount Saint Joseph Academy, senior Maddie Abbot jumped on the shoulders of a younger teammate for a photo just behind first base.

It was a fitting reversal for the Hurricane senior, who had just finished carrying the youthful Hurricanes on her back for the better part of two hours.

Abbot only struck out five Magic hitters — a low tally by her high standards — but was otherwise on-point as the Hurricanes allowed just three hits in a complete-game shutout as Villa Maria blanked Mount Saint Joseph, 4-0, in a District 1 Class AAA semifinal Tuesday at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.

The win secured a state playoff bid for top-seeded Villa Maria (18-2), and puts the defending District 1 Class AAA champion Hurricanes back into Thursday’s championship game, where they will face Bishop Shanahan at a site to be announced. The Eagles posted a surprising 10-0 win over Upper Merion in Tuesday’s other semifinal.

“We’ve won districts before,” said Abbot. “But we have so many freshmen on this team. So to get a chance to do it twice, I feel like our program has really been building. To have all these freshmen get to experience this in their first year is amazing.”

The loss ended the season for the Magic (11-7), since just two teams qualify for states in Class AAA, and was the third defeat for the Mount this season against their Athletic Association of Catholic Academies rival.

“In a way, it was good to face a familiar team,” said Mount pitcher Julie Burns, who pitched a solid game after a tough first inning. “We know what they are and it gets us pumped up. But it’s kind of hard to lose to them again. We played a hard game but it’s tought to lose again to them.”

Coming off a dominating 14-strikeout performance against Radnor in the quarterfinals, Abbot’s day got off to a rough start Tuesday when she hit Mount Saint Joseph leadoff hitter Angela Gervasi with the very first pitch.

But on the very next pitch, Abbot got Mount third baseman Daria Vining to pop up a bunt attempt that turned into a 2-4 double play. After Kailey Karabin flew out to center field, Abbot had completed a pretty strange 1-2-3 winning on just six pitches.

The bottom of the first was even more eventful for the Hurricanes off Mount starting pitcher Burns.

Marisa Bruder drew a leadoff walk and Bri Wright followed by capping a lengthy at-bat with a double to left — on a fly ball Mount left fielder Kailyn Muhl would probably like back — to give Villa a 1-0 lead.

Left fielder Lisa Becker followed with an RBI double of her own into right-center, and catcher Sarahrose Jonik added a single to put runners on the corners, with Jonik alertly taking second on the throw.

Alyssa Viscardo capped the early scoring with a sacrifice fly, giving Abbot a 3-0 lead before she took the mound for the second inning.

“We were a little nervous and didn’t want to take the Mount too lightly,” said Wright, noting the ’Canes two relatively easy wins over the Magic in AACA play. “Getting a jump in the first innig was key. Usually if we get a jump early in the lineup, it gets everyone going and it makes the rest of the game much easier.”

The Mount picked up its play after a few first-inning miscues, as Burns and relief pitcher Sofia Little combined to allow just one more Villa Maria run on four hits in the final five innings.

But on the other side, the Magic never really threatened against Abbot, who — according to Villa Maria records — is just two strikeouts shy of the PIAA Class AAA strikeout record of 757, set by Chichester’s Meghan Wimmer.

Barring a miracle, Abbot should match and break that mark Thursday against Bishop Shanahan, if not in the first round of states.

“I think we knew better because we knew what to expect from them,” Abbot said. “But the Mount came out much stronger today than I’ve ever seen them before. It was like a different team today.”

The Hurricanes will face a much different test Thursday against an unfamiliar foe in Shanahan. With a win — and a second straight District 1 crown — Villa would enter states as the top seed and face the third-place team from District 3.

The loser of Thursday’s game will face the top AAA seed out of District 12 to open states.

“I think it’s really exciting for us,” Wright said of the game against Shanahan. “They’ve never seen us before and never seen Maddie before, so it should be really exciting.”