Lansdale Catholic looks to improve after season-opening win over Archbishop Carroll

LANSDALE >> Lansdale Catholic softball coach Paul Suder will take the win and pretty much not much else from the Crusaders’ season opener against Archbishop Carroll.

“I’m thinking I’m just going to forget about this game,” he said. “I’m thinking it’s like, you know what, it’s done, we’re past, moving on. We’re just going to play better.”

Neither LC or the visiting Patriots put their best foot forward on a brisk Tuesday afternoon, the two combining for a bevy of walks, wild pitches and errors in the Philadelphia Catholic League contest. But after an early 3-1 deficit, the Crusaders struck for four runs in the bottom of the third inning then added five more in the fourth and that outburst was enough to hold off Carroll and claim a 10-7 victory.

“It was probably the most disappointing opening-game win we’ve ever had, let me put it that way,” Suder said. “We did not play well at all. It’s hard to put your finger on it, I really don’t know why. We just got a lot of work, that’s what I look at it.”

Mary Picozzi gave Lansdale Catholic an offensive jolt in the third as her two-run home run to right tied the game 3-3. Picozzi finished with three runs scored and also earned the pitching victory while Casey Meenan went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two run scored for the Crusaders (1-0, 1-0).

“It was a little messy from the start,” Picozzi said. “First game out, it’s a league game. We did get the win, that was good but lot of things we’ve got to work on.”

Picozzi gave up seven runs — four earned — on just one hit and struck out 10 in five-plus innings in the circle but the right-hander also allowed eight walks — five to leadoff batters.

“She couldn’t control the strike zone,” Suder said. “We tried to stay with a pitch that we thought was going to be strikes. We kept calling it, because they weren’t going to hit her. I didn’t feel they were able to hit her but we just couldn’t throw two or three strikes in a row.

Emily Yost posted three RBIs while Paige Paciolla, Julia Marozzi and Kaitlyn Leshak all scored twice for LC, which hosts Little Flower in a PCL contest 3:45 p.m. Thursday.

“Definitely a lot of things to work on,” said LC junior Megan Burns, who pitched two innings in relief. “I think it’s just the first game, we’re rusty and it was cold but weather doesn’t have to affect our game we play the way we play. First game, you shake it off. You make a couple errors here and there and just go back to practice and work on what you need to work on.

Sophie Spurio posted the lone hit for Archbishop Carroll (0-1, 0-1) — an RBI single in the top of the fifth — and collected a pair of RBIs. Cheyenne Niehoff scored three times for the Patriots, who are home against Bonner & Prendergast 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Carroll starting pitcher Gianna Licardello took the loss, giving up seven runs — five earned — on two hits in two stints in the circle totaling 2 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out one.

The Patriots took a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Maya Preston scored as Spurio reached on an error with Niehoff plating the second run on a double steal.

LC got a run in the bottom of the first as Picozzi came home on a ball four wild pitch but Carroll regained its two-run advantage in the top of the third when Niehoff scored on a passed ball.

The Crusaders, however, took lead for good in the bottom of the frame. After Paciolla reached on a one-out error, Picozzi leveled the contest with her opposite field blast over the right-field fence.

“I was just looking for something to, I mean, obviously just crush one,” Picozzi said. “I mean, got that my second at-bat.”

Meenan gave the Crusaders a 4-3 lead with her bases-loaded RBI fielder’s choice. Olivia Davis’ single on the next at-bat loaded the bases again for Yost, who drew a walk to bring in Leshak to make it 5-3.

Lansdale Catholic proceeded to extend the margin to 10-3 with a five spot in the fourth. Paciolla scored the bottom of the frame’s opening run due to an error on a Marozzi fielder’s choice. A wild pitch allowed Picozzi home to make it 7-3 while Meenan’s RBI bases-loaded infield single scored Marozzi. Two batters later, Yost plated two more runs with her single to right for a 10-3 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Spurio’s RBI single through the left side of the infield scored Niehoff, who led off with a walk and took second on a wild pitch.

Carroll cut its deficit to 10-7 with three runs in the sixth. With runners on second and third, LC tried for the out at home on a Molly Devenney bunt but an Crusaders error allowed Licardello — who led off with a walk — to come home. The Crusaders’ unsuccessful attempt to get Devenney out at second on the play allowed Julianna Lafontano to also score. Two batters later, an errant throw that went out of play on a Niehoff fly out brought in Devenney to make it 10-7.