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MARPLE TWP. — Archbishop Wood exacted sweet revenge on Cardinal O’Hara Monday afternoon, four days after suffering a difficult loss to end the regular season.
In a Catholic League playoff quarterfinal, the No. 5 Vikings came out swinging and never let up as they cruised to a 17-6 victory over the fourth-seeded Lions.
O’Hara defeated Wood last Thursday, 9-7, to clinch a first-round home playoff game. That didn’t matter one bit to the Vikings.
Wood (11-8) advances to Wednesday’s semifinals. O’Hara (8-6) won’t play again until early June in a District 12 game whose outcome will determine seeding in the PIAA Class 5A tournament.
The Vikings launched an early attack that saw them score three runs in the first inning against O’Hara’s pitcher Hayden Sissons. With its disciplined approach at the plate, Wood made the All-Delco hurler spend a lot of energy and throw a lot of pitches, which caught up to her later. The Lions committed five errors, including a costly one in the first leading to three unearned runs.
Wood leadoff hitter Maura Yoos began the game with a bunt single, one of five base knocks for the senior shortstop.
The Vikings extended their lead to 8-1 by the third, thanks in part to Parker Kraus’ three-run home run off Maddie Jones, who pitched in relief of Sissons.
Wood pitcher Jackie Cobb battled adversity as the Lions chipped away at an 8-1 deficit. But the Vikings hitters never wavered, putting together one tough at bat after another, making Sissons and Jones strain for every out they could get.
“As the game went on, we just kept getting stronger,” said Cobb, who allowed six runs (two earned) on 10 hits and struck out four in a complete game. “We kept gaining momentum and just played our game. We never stopped fighting for it.”
Despite O’Hara’s valiant efforts to stage a comeback, narrowing the deficit to 8-6 in the fourth inning with Hayden Reale’s two-run single and Sissons’ two-run triple, Wood remained resilient with the bats. The Vikings answered back with two runs in the sixth, highlighted by Cobb’s two-run double, extending their lead to 10-6.
The Vikings buried the Lions with a seven-run seventh inning. Yoos, who went 5-for-5 with a walk and five RBIs, delivered the final blow with a three-run homer.
“They’re all really good teammates and I think that once one of them hits, gets on base somehow, it just keeps going,” Wood coach Jackie Ecker said. “We had a lot of good at bats today. We have to keep that going when we play Ryan.”
Cobb (three RBIs), catcher Sophia Azzarano (two RBIs) and right fielder Katherine Freligh (two RBIs) each collected three hits for the Vikings.
Sissons pitched 2.1 innings, giving up seven runs (four earned) on five hits while fanning four. She slugged a pair of triples. Reale, Lindsey Cathers and Emily Dill all supplied two hits for the Lions.
O’Hara played without two of its starters, junior Avery Groh and sophomore Maddie Fagioli, who are injured.
“We had to move some girls around, put them in positions where they wouldn’t normally play,” coach Dan Yohey said. “We asked girls to step up for each other today, and some of those errors and misplayed balls were just due to girls not having enough time in that position. But I was happy that the girls battled back. We got it back to 8-6, and if a few things go a little differently, we may have had a different outcome.”
In another Catholic League quarterfinal:
Archbishop Carroll 14, Nazareth Academy 4 >> Pitcher Dakota Johnson had a huge day at the dish, going 3-for-3 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs scored, as the third-seeded Patriots won in five innings.
Carroll will meet No. 2 Conwell-Egan in Wednesday’s semifinal round.
