Bonnies lose lead to Molloy in late innings

Once again the Bonnies remained on the road and traveled to Queens to play their next league game against Molloy at Cunningham Park.  Like their two previous wins to open the season, the Bonnies started this game by scoring early, only to lose their lead late in the game for their first loss of the season.

Molloy 7 Fontbonne 5

After two outs to open the first inning, Natalie LaCognata stroked a double to left to start a four run rally.  Next up Bianca Marletta followed with another double to left to score LaCognata, who in turn scored on a third consecutive double by Gabby Casagrande.   Abigail Fogliano then followed with a single to give Fontbonne a 3-0 lead.

Entering the game with an early 3-0 lead, Bonnies’ pitching ace Bianca Marletta maintained a steady 4-1 lead over the next four innings. By the fifth inning, the Marletta sisters increased the Bonnies’ lead once again as Bianca singled in Samantha for a substantial 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning with only six more outs needed for the win.

While only scoring just one run in the fifth inning to increase their lead to 5-1, the Bonnies missed a golden opportunity to add on some insurance runs by finishing the inning with the bases loaded.  “Insurance runs” are very important when facing a team like Molloy – last season’s champs – stated Fontbonne Coach Frank Marinello.  The lack of insurance runs along with a total on nine Fontbonne errors; combined with Molloy’s Camille Sears’ pitching would eventually contribute to Fontbonne’s first loss over the next two innings.

Unfortunately the four run lead did not hold up for Fontbonne as a combination of Molloy hits and sloppy infield play allowed 3 runs on three errors for the Stanners to creep back into the game within one run with the score now at 5-4.  Sloppy play continued into the bottom of the sixth allowing Molloy to take a 7-5 lead, as Fontbonne’s last chance to bat came up in the top of the seventh inning.

This time the Bonnies couldn’t muster late inning heroics like they did to win their first two games, as the team could only manage a walk in a final attempt for a comeback win.  This brings Fontbonne’s record to 2-1 for second place in their division.