Gwynedd Mercy falls to Nazareth Academy in District 1-4A final

HORSHAM >> Gwynedd Mercy Academy faced a tough task in the District 1-4A softball final.

After shutting out Upper Moreland in the semifinal, the Monarchs were pitted against the No. 1 seed, Nazareth Academy. The Pandas finished the regular season with a 15-2 record, but they were still a vulnerable opponent. After all, six of Nazareth’s victories were come-from-behind wins, and it only eked by a sub-.500 opponent in Villa Joseph Marie during the semifinal, 6-5.

Still, the Pandas beat Gwynedd Mercy in both of their regular season games. The Monarchs fell in the first contest at home, 9-5, and then lost a narrow decision on the road, 4-3.

Unfortunately for Gwynedd Mercy, Wednesday’s contest was not decided in its favor. The Monarchs battled throughout, but a three-run swing in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the difference as Gwynedd Mercy was defeated by Nazareth, 6-3, at Hatboro-Horsham.

With the holiday weekend providing time for their teams to rest, Monarchs head coach Charlie Ball and Pandas head coach Danielle Vittitow could each trot out their star pitchers. Freshman Madison Seidel came into the circle for Gwynedd Mercy, and senior Devyn Dydak drew the start for Nazareth.

The top of the first inning saw Dydak walk leadoff batter Hailee Weiss, but she retired the next two batters before facing first baseman Meaghan McGoldrick. During the at-bat, Weiss stole second, and McGoldrick capitalized. She hit a blooper over shortstop Mac Tobler’s head, scoring the first run of the game.

Seidel, fresh off a shutout over Upper Moreland last week, could not replicate her dominant form in the early going. The freshman allowed the first three batters to reach base. Following a single from Tobler, Stephanie Marino laid down a routine bunt, but the throw to first was too high, and Tobler rounded the bases to knot the game.

Natalie Minitti then singled, putting runners on first and third, and she then advanced to second off a wild pitch. Next up was Megan Dignam, who hit a hard grounder toward first — one that McGoldrick could not handle — which scored the Pandas’ second run and gave them the lead.

At this point, runners occupied the corners, and Seidel had failed to record an out. Thanks to Weiss, though, Nazareth’s scoring outburst came to an end. Cait Ferry drilled a line drive in Weiss’ direction. The junior captain made the catch and also got the tag-out at third. After Seidel walked Timoney Lamplugh, she struck out Julianna Nocito to escape the inning without any further damage.

“Hailee Weiss has been doing that all year,” Ball said regarding the junior’s double play. “She’s probably the premier shortstop in our league.”

The next two innings passed by without much incident as Seidel and Dydak began to settle in the circle.

Dydak pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the second and stranded one runner at first base during the third. Meanwhile, Seidel worked around an early walk to down the next three batters in the second frame before stringing together a 1-2-3 inning of her own in the third.

Gwynedd Mercy missed out on a prime opportunity to score in the fourth. Seidel reached first on a single, and she proceeded to steal both second and third. With Lauren Slovensky also on second, Lily Panunto grounded out but appeared to drive in a run as Seidel crossed home. But as she was running to third, Slovensky interfered with the Tobler, who made the throw to first. That interference combined with the out at first would result in three outs.

But after a lengthy discussion, officials placed Panunto at first and Seidel at third with two outs. The interference by Slovensky resulted in a dead ball. The score still stood at 2-1, and Carley Andrews came to the plate. She flew out to left field, squashing the scoring threat.

“I didn’t want to argue,” Ball said referring to the call. “I told them that was the wrong call when I went out there, and (the officials) told me I was wrong. I didn’t want to belabor the issue that early in the game.”

The Pandas extended their lead in the same frame. Seidel drew an early out, but Nocito reached first after beating the throw by Weiss. She stole, and McGurk was fanned by Seidel. Dydak then displayed her prowess at the plate, blasting a double off the wall to tally the team’s third run. The ensuing batter — Tobler — hit one through the middle. Dydak rounded third to try to score, but she could not beat the throw home, which held the Pandas at three runs.

In the fifth, Dydak began to unravel. Liz Held lined out to shortstop to kick off the inning, but Dydak proceeded to walk the next three batters. Seidel appeared at the plate with the bases loaded, and Dydak walked her counterpart in four pitches, cutting Nazareth’s lead to just one. That lead soon vanished when McGoldrick launched a sacrifice fly to knot the game at three apiece.

Seidel rebounded in the bottom of the frame. Aside from a Marino bunt, Seidel denied the Panda bats. Dydak more or less did the same in the sixth. The senior gave up a single and a walk, but she stranded the runners at first and second thanks to Marino, who made a diving catch in center to record the third out.

The final turning point came in the bottom of the sixth. Seidel notched a quick out and looked to have a second following a Nocito strikeout, but Nocito reached first as a result of a dropped third strike. Gianna DiBello came in as a pinch-hitter, and she moved herself and Nocito up a base with a hard grounder. Dydak then came up to bat, and she gave herself a lead to work with, earning her second RBI double of the day to drive in Nocito. Tobler then blasted a double of her own. This time, Dydak safely made it home along with Marie Dignam, who was pinch-running for DiBello. This three-run scoring outburst gave the Pandas a comfortable edge heading into the seventh.

In the last inning, Dydak made quick work of the Monarchs. Jess Dibricida reached first, but Seidel then flew out to Dydak. Megan Dignam wrapped up the contest by recording a game-ending double play as she handled a liner from McGoldrick and tagged out Dibricida.

While Gwynedd Mercy’s season ended just short of an appearance in the state tournament, Ball is confident about his team’s future.

“(The Pandas) beat us three times. You got to tip your hat to them. But they are senior-loaded. I graduate one senior from the starting lineup. I have juniors, sophomores and freshmen coming back. Our turn’s coming. I congratulate them and wish them all the best at states.”