Kane, Banes help Cardinal O’Hara get firm grip on St. Hubert

MARPLE >> With two surehanded mitts guarding the left side of the infield, it’s no wonder that Cardinal O’Hara pitcher Mary Pat Brough is so comfortable throwing to contact.

Third baseman Maura Kane and shortstop Annemarie Banes, both juniors, have Brough’s back.

So, when the game was on the line Wednesday, there was Kane to save the day. With the Lions clinging to a one-run lead with two outs and a St. Hubert runner stationed at third, Kane fielded a sharp ground ball that leapt off the bat of Julia Vizza and jumped on Kane, who wisely kept her body in front of the ball. She recovered it and fired a bullet to first baseman Lexie Cervella for the third and final out of a 5-4 O’Hara victory. The first teammates to greet her with celebratory hugs? Brough and Banes, of course.

Kane, a blue chipper on the diamond, knew she had to keep her cool in that situation.

“I knew that if this ball gets hit to me, she (Amanda Iriana, who was at third) can’t score and I have to get the out at (first),” Kane said. “Once I bobbled it, I was like, ‘Alright, Maura, just relax. No rush.’ Because if I had rushed that throw, it would have been bombed over Lexie’s head. I was just thinking, ‘Let’s get this out and we can end it here.’”

A big reason why Cardinal O’Hara (11-2, 9-1 Catholic League) is sitting pretty in the league standings and ranked No. 2 in Delaware County is because

of its stellar defense. Not to be dismissed is the right side of that infield, consisting of second baseman Emily Loomis and Cervella, who teamed up to make a sparkling play in the sixth inning. Loomis backhanded a ground ball and had to rush her throw to nab Hubert’s Kate Jaworski barreling up the line. Loomis’ throw was low, but picked out of the dirt nicely by Cervella.

“Mary is in every single inning. She trusts us, which is great because it gives her more leeway to pitch the pitches she wants,” Banes said. “I think that helps us out a lot and keeps us in every game.”

Banes starred as a sophomore at third base, while Kane was the Lions’ centerfielder a year ago as her older sister, Kayla, earned All-Delco honors as the team’s starting shortstop. Banes and Maura Kane are the type of versatile players that can excel at any spot on the field.

“I’ve played shortstop my entire life, so it’s no problem for me,” Banes said. “Third base was a little tough last year. I’m glad to be back at short.”

O’Hara bounced back from a tough loss Monday to Lansdale Catholic. The Lions were shut out, 4-0, and suffered through their worst offensive performance of the season. They needed a close, grind-it-out game to build confidence again.

O’Hara has been in a few close battles, winning three one-run games (Bonner & Prendergast, Haverford, St. Hubert) and one two-run decision (Archbishop Ryan), all playoff-caliber opponents.

“Our bats went silent (against Lansdale Catholic),” Banes said. “But our defense is always in every single game, and that’s what carries us through. We definitely need to keep giving it our best.”

“Mary Pat kept us in this game today,” Kane said. “She’s a great pitcher on the mound. We went down in a couple of those innings today, but we came right back and went after them. It was a good team win.”

O’Hara batted around and scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning off St. Hubert pitcher Melissa Hess. Kane, Loomis and Banes hit three consecutive RBI singles and Jessica Skarren knocked in O’Hara’s fourth run with a fielder’s choice ground out.

“(Hess) had a lot of speed and was killing us inside a lot,” said Banes, who was 1 for 3 at the plate. O’Hara had just five hits off the flame-throwing Hess, all singles. “She got me to pop up a couple times. She was a good pitcher and threw hard every single pitch.”

The Bambies took advantage of a rare error by Kane at third base. With runners on first and second, Jaworski belted a two-run triple to the alley in left-center to cut O’Hara’s lead to 4-2 in the fourth. The deciding fifth run for O’Hara came in the bottom half of the fourth when Kane smacked a line drive that went under the glove of Jaworski at third, allowing pinch runner Killeen McCans to score. McCans ran for Brough, who led off the frame with a single to right field.

Elizabeth Schule hit a bomb to center field for a two-run homer to trim O’Hara’s lead to 5-4 in the fifth.  Brough recovered by retiring the side in order in the sixth. After Iriana got to second base on an error to start the seventh, Danielle Franks grounded out to Loomis at second and Brough followed with a strikeout for the second out.

Brown allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with four strikeouts.

Wednesday served as another reminder that O’Hara is a legitimate contender for the Catholic League title, and one of the top teams in the county.

“It was another big win for us, “ Kane said. “We want the Catholic League title so bad and this season we’re working really hard toward it. I can’t say we’ll win it, but I don’t think anyone in the Catholic League wants it more than us.”