A blustery first day of spring brought together two Bay Ridge rivals to kick off the CHSAA Division 1 softball season as Fontbonne’s Bonnies hosted the Xaverian Clippers at Dyker Park’s Red Devils Softball Field.
Last season these two neighborhood rivals made strong playoff runs as Fontbonne lost a one-run semi-final game to Archbishop Molloy, while first-seeded Xaverian lost their championship bid to the same Stanners from Queens.
With last year’s seniors having moved on, both teams now feature new frontline starting pitchers. Bonnies senior Rebecca DiLeo (nine strikeouts) squared off against Clippers senior Kiera Lawler, who also struck out nine.
The Bonnies led off the scoring in the second inning as DiLeo doubled and was bunted home by Nealla Lyons for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the fourth, the Clippers gained a 2-1 lead with runs scored by Sophia Cropper and Gianna Guglielminetti. Kate Kmiotek reached second on an error in left field and was eventually bunted home by Kylie Mendez to tie the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth.
In the bottom of the sixth, it appeared that the Bonnies were ready to bust open the game with the bases loaded until Lawler regained control and shut down the Bonnies on three consecutive outs. After giving up a bunt single to Sophia Sterachi, a double to Kmiotek and a walk to DiLeo, Lawler stopped the Fontbonne threat on a lineout to third base and two strikeouts.
The Clippers then rode their inning-ending momentum to the top of the seventh with Chiara Ruberto scoring a tie-breaking run on a misplayed fly ball to short right field to go ahead 3-2. Gianna Scarpaci then sealed the game for the Clippers by smacking a two-run double to center to wrap up the 5-2 victory.
These teams are scheduled for a rematch in mid-April when the Clippers will host the Bonnies at their home field on Shore Road.
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