Fontbonne opens season with a win and a prayer

Fontbonne opened its varsity softball season in Marine Park with a 5-1 win over Queens rival St. Francis Prep. 

Before the game, Fontbonne head coach Frank Marinello assembled the Bonnies and the Terriers in a prayer circle to remember Joe Lewinger, the 2020 Girls CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens softball commissioner from The Mary Louis Academy. As this season’s new commissioner, Marinello dedicated the game to the memory of the beloved longtime TMLA athletic director who died from COVID in the early days of the pandemic.  

Junior Rebecca DiLeo, a varsity newcomer, started off the first two innings with five strikeouts, while Nicole Petrillo singled home Haley Ballard during the first inning for the first run of the game. After Emma Bolino and Sofia Sterlacci singled to open the third inning, Ballard singled again to drive both runners home. Advancing to third on a steal, Ballard then scored on an infield error to give Fontbonne a 4-0 lead at the end of the third inning.

The Bonnies scored once more as Vicky Bruno tripled to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Isabella Calvaruso followed Bruno with an RBI groundout to give Fontbonne a 5-0 lead going into the fifth.

In the seventh, Petrillo threw out a Terrier runner at home in a collision slide with catcher Izzy Chan. Despite the defensive gem, the next Terrier doubled and eventually scored to break up the shutout.