Published: May 09, 2008 10:39 pm            

HS SOFTBALL: Niagara Catholic remains winless

NIAGARA FALLS — There’s no doubt St. Mary’s of Lancaster is one of the best teams in the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association. Issue the Lancers 13 walks and hit four more batters and you’ve come up with a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately for Niagara Catholic, that recipe was followed precisely in a disappointing 18-2 loss to the visiting Lancers Friday at Conti Field. The game was called after five innings due to the MMAA’s 10-run rule.

“We’re struggling with pitching right now,” NC coach Krys Bondarenko said. “Walks and hit batsmen have been a concern all year long. You have a couple walks to put people in scoring position and then they get a hit to bring them in.”

St. Mary’s (7-2 overall, 6-2 MMAA) went to work early, scoring four runs in the first inning. The Lancers then opened it up in the second thanks to seven walks and RBI singles from Chrissy Valentino and Steph Simmeth. Both Valentino and Simmeth finished 3-for-3 on the day.

St. Mary’s would score five more in the third off NC starter Rebecca Young. The Lancers were again helped by three hit batters and three walks in the frame.

“It’s a game of opportunities and we took advantage of them,” St. Mary’s coach Dave Helak said. “We didn’t want to run up the score. We wanted to play solid softball and I think we did that.”

The Patriots finally got some offense going in the fourth when Jen Hare ripped a single to center field, Jolene Lambert followed with a walk and both came around to score when Lindsey Wiler ripped a single to right field. That would be all the offense NC would be able to muster, though, as it remained winless on the year at 0-8 in the MMAA.

Wiler had two of NC’s three hits on the day. Sarah Zurek pitched all five innings for St. Mary’s, striking out six.

Catholic has two games left on its schedule, including Monday’s contest against another struggling team in Cardinal O’Hara.

“We’re looking forward to that game,” Bondarenko said. “O’Hara is traditionally a rival, so we’d really like to do well against them.”

Contact reporter Nate Beutel at 282-2311, ext. 2262.

        

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