Liciardello, Carroll dig deep for win over O’Hara

RADNOR — They used shovels, rakes and whatever other lawn care equipment they could find to get their field in tip-top shape.

Archbishop Carroll’s softball players figured if they wanted something done right, they had to do it themselves.

“We got on our hands and knees, digging through the dirt,” third baseman Sophia Spurio said. “We did the work.”

There are pocket fences all around the outfield, which the players and coaches put up and take down themselves. On the backstop there’s a mesh netting with the Archbishop Carroll logo. The team is raising money for new dugouts, as well.

One might say the Patriots are building their own field of dreams. They are playing outstanding ball to start the 2021 season. The players are constantly reminded of Carroll’s success in other sports. There are Catholic League and PIAA championship banners in sports such as basketball and lacrosse in the school’s gymnasium.

“We don’t have a banner in the gym,” coach Mike Lorine said. “The kids want to change that one day.”

Carroll won its fifth straight game to open the year Thursday, an 18-3 decision over rival Cardinal O’Hara. Carroll’s bats were relentless. The Patriots scored seven runs in the first, nine in the third, and two in the fourth.

Carroll (5-0, 4-0 Catholic League) has come a long way since Lorine took over the program.

“Coach came here my freshman year and we really changed everything about softball at Carroll,” senior catcher Christina Jackson, who smashed the first of two Carroll home runs Thursday, said of Lorine. “My freshman year, the girls weren’t really into softball that much, but now it’s really competitive. We’re now consistent every single day and working hard. These girls are laying it out … and to be honest, we’re just grateful to be playing again.”

The pandemic canceled spring high school sports last year all across the country. Fortunately, several of Lorine’s players got their softball fix during the summer and offseason months. Four Carroll players, including Jackson and ace pitcher Gianna Liciardello, are members of the Valley Forge Patriots travel organization. Carroll starters Lauren and Maddie Martin are on Lorine’s Valley Forge Gold team with Liciardello. Despite the pandemic, the travel club was able to play close to 50 games last summer.

“A lot of the girls grew up together, came up playing softball together,” Jackson said. “We’ve all been sticking with it even with COVID.”

Liciardello, a junior, saw three pitches and drilled each one a long, long way. She blasted a two-run double in the first to give Carroll a 4-0 lead, then led off the third with a solo homer to left-center field. Liciardello batted again in the third and ripped another two-run double.

On the mound, Liciardello allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with five strikeouts.

“I definitely got a lot stronger and gained some speed on my pitches. I also learned a bunch of off-speed pitches, which have definitely helped me,” she said. “Losing last season made all of us feel a lot more confident this year, to go for it all. The energy we bring every day is so important because we know with the COVID situation, we can be shut down at any moment.”

Carroll has a designated spot on the bench where there’s an oversized bottle of hand sanitizer. They are taking extra precautions.

“We don’t want to be shut down because we know we can be a really good team,” Liciardello said.

Lauren Martin, the team’s first baseman and three-hole hitter, worked four walks on 16 pitches.

“They didn’t want to pitch to her,” Lorine said, generating laughter from his players.

Maddie Martin, Lauren’s sister, had a single and a walk. Molly Devenney went 3-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. Jackson finished 3-for-3 with the homer and a pair of singles. Spurio went 2-for-2 with a sacrifice fly and three ribbies.

“The girls worked hard to get where they are right now,” Lorine said. “They come to the field every day and give it all they have and they are having a lot of fun.”

O’Hara showed fight after it fell behind 7-0 after the first. Julia Mirarchi went the opposite way for a two-run double and Maeve Boston hit an RBI ground out to cut the deficit to 7-3 in the second inning. However, Carroll’s bats were simply too powerful. The Patriots pounded 13 hits in the four-inning affair.

In the Central League:

Marple Newtown 2, Ridley 1 >> A pitchers’ duel between two of the best in Delco, MN’s Kelsey Racine and Ridley’s Madison Chapman, was decided when the host Tigers scratched out a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kelsey Racine delivered a clutch RBI double and Amanda Smith came through with a run-scoring single. Lindsay Walsh scored both Tigers runs.

Racine went the distance, allowing four hits and one run with four strikeouts. Chapman gave up just two hits and fanned nine.

Sydney Schaeffer went 2-for-2 with a triple and a run scored. Jolie Torrens knocked in Ridley’s lone run with a single in the fifth inning.

Springfield 16, Lower Merion 1 >> Ryleigh Frye had a three-hit day with five RBIs and three runs scored. One of her hits went for three bases.

Jill Condi went 2-for-3 with a double, triple, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored for the Cougars, who plated 10 runs in the top of the first. Jordan Galloway and Lanie Morris (two RBIs) both went 2-for-2, and Sam Ciasullo was the winning pitcher.