Bristol softball wins sixth straight PIAA District I Class A title

FAIRLESS HILLS – It has gotten to the point where Bristol High softball’s level of sustained dominance is so high, even Mike Lalli is a bit mystified.

Even after 31 years and more than 500 wins on his resume, the head coach shrugged his shoulders Thursday afternoon (June 2) following the program’s sixth straight PIAA District I Class A championship, a 7-1 Bristol win over Calvary Christian at Pennsbury High School.

There was no stopping Bucks County’s undefeated squad. Not even the second-seeded Cougars, who played the top-seeded Warriors tougher than anyone has all year in a 2-1 defeat April 18, could solve Bristol’s dynasty when all the chips were on the table.

“We just have a lot of dedicated kids in town. They work real hard,” Lalli said. “They know the tradition. They don’t want to break the tradition.”

He paused before continuing with a smile. “I don’t know what to tell you. They’re committed. If there’s one sport in our school district that’s committed to winning and continually getting to this level, it’s the softball team.”

Sophomore Cara Fabiano twirled a complete-game gem on the mound, yielding only two hits while striking out 14 of the 23 batters she faced.

At one point, Fabiano fanned six in a row, and Calvary Christian didn’t hit a ball into the outfield until the sixth inning.

Neither the righthander nor her coach knows how hard she throws. Velocity is only a number when you can deliver pitches anywhere you want over the plate.

“I had a good warmup,” Fabiano said. “Mr. Lalli calls the pitches, I throw them and that’s it.”

Added Lalli: “She’s almost like playing a video game where you can pinpoint, ‘Look Cara, we need the pitch right here,’ and she puts it there — inside, outside, high, low. She’s really, really good at locating.”

She also helped her own cause at the plate with two runs batted in (RBI). The first came on a one-out double in the bottom of the first inning, jump-starting a three-run scoring frame for Bristol.

Freshman Hailey Sweeney collected two hits and also drove in a run in the first inning.

Calvary Christian’s Carrie Stauffer neutralized Bristol for the most part, though. She struck out five, including two to escape a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, before four fielding errors helped Bristol plate four insurance runs.

Lalli said the only other time his team has struck out more than three times in a game was when it faced Stauffer earlier this season.

“No one really strikes us out as much, but this kid has a way of keeping us off-balanced, throwing a little changeup, keeping it outside, keeping it high and low,” Lalli said. “She does a really good job.”

Next up for Bristol in the state playoffs is District 3 champion Greenwood on Monday at a site to be determined.

Recognizing the sky high potential of the program, the Warriors expect to keep their unblemished run rolling.

“It’s a testament to the girls,” Lalli said, “These are the same girls that play field hockey and basketball and hardly have any success, unfortunately. But on the softball field, they’re a different animal.”

Fabiano agreed. “Softball is Bristol. If you’re in Bristol, think softball.”

Contact Greg Johnson at gjohnson@trentonian.com OR @gregp_j on Twitter

District 1 Class A Championship

Bristol 7, Calvary Christian 1

(June 2 at Pennsbury)

Calvary Christian (13-3) 000 000 1 – 1 2 5

Bristol (19-0) 300 013 X – 7 7 1

WP — Fabiano; LP — Stauffer.

2B — Fabiano (B). RBI — Fabiano 2, Sweeney, Vearling.