The Bradford softball team got their final week of the season off to a bumpy start, as early errors and timid defense late gave way to a 8-0 loss to St. Marys.

The Lady Owls entered this week with their last four games slated one after the other. To kick things off, they faced the defending District 9 Class 4A champions, the Lady Dutch. Since winning the title, St. Marys has refused to loosen their grip on the throne. Entering Monday’s matchup, the Lady Dutch sat at 13-1, in the midst of a five game win streak and have outscored their opponents 174-28 throughout the season.

“We have a good core of players, which creates a good atmosphere. This is a team-oriented group of girls and that’s important to have,” said St. Marys head coach Matt Eckels. “That’s really what’s working for us, along with some timely hitting and great pitching.”

Almost immediately, the Lady Owls had dug themselves a hole. After lead off Lady Dutch batter Addison Beimel got on base with a single, Molly Hansolvan ripped a deep shot into center field. A Bradford error in the outfield allowed Beimel to round home plate and Hanslovan to get to third. One batter later, a wild pitch let in another run, giving St. Marys a 2-0 cushion.

While they recollected themselves with three outs in rapid succession, they failed to strike back at the plate. Through the next two frames, the Lady Owls would send three up and three down, unable to get past the Lady Dutch’s ace Avery Eckels or their rigid defense.

In the third, however, the Lady Owls saw a spark of life. Alyssa Johnson opened the frame with Bradford’s first hit of the day, notching a single. Adilynn Brown followed in suit with a bunt then stealing second to put the tandem in scoring position. Despite their newly made gains, both runners were left stranded from an unsuccessful bunt and back-to-back strikeouts.

After being shut out for two innings, the Lady Dutch once again found their footing in the fourth. With two outs in as many batters, St. Marys’ Gianna Surra broke the seal with a double. Sophia Surra replicated the hit right after, driving in their third run of the game. The run sparked some momentum for the Lady Dutch, as they would go on to score in the next two innings.

Finding three quick Lady Owls outs, St. Marys’ bats got hot once again. Kaylen Eozzo and Gianna Surra began the run with consecutive singles, followed by a two-run RBI double from Kelsie Fledderman, widening the margin on the scoreboard to six. Another double put a runner on second and third before another Bradford wild pitch brought in run number seven. Another wild pitch in the sixth would increase their lead to 8-0.

“The second time through the line up, these girls are a bit more dangerous,” said Matt Eckels. “It takes them a little bit to settle in, but the second or third time through, they’re just going to square everything they see and put it in the green somewhere.”

All the while the Lady Dutch were churning in runs, Bradford just couldn’t find contact in the batter’s box. In the final three innings, the Lady Owls went three-and-out each time as they dropped to 7-10.

“That was one of the better teams and pitchers we’ll see, but we still have to hit the ball. We just couldn’t get the bat on the ball the way we needed to. We need to do something with it,” said Bradford head coach Marty Becchelli. “Defensively, that was probably one of our better games. We gave up a few routine errors early but then it kind of shored up and life was good. Overall, everyone played well.”

Giuliana Muccio led the Lady Dutch at the plate, ending 3-for-4 with one run scored. Gianna Surra also went 3-for-4, while Fledderman went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two more batted in. For Bradford, Kalie Dixon and Johnson both registered hits on the day, going 1-for-3 and 1-for-2, respectively.

Both teams have just three games left in the season. For St. Marys, they will play DuBois Central Catholic and Elk County Catholic on Wednesday and Thursday before wrapping their regular season up with a Saturday matinee against Cranberry. Beyond that, the playoffs await.

“We want to finish out this week strong. Our final three games will be this week. We’re going to look to focus on playing good solid defense and get some timely hits again,” said Matt Eckels. “We’re just going to look to finish strong and take us right into the playoffs.”

Bradford will have to regroup more quickly, playing all of their remaining games consecutively. On Tuesday, the Lady Owls travel to play at Clearfield before closing out the season at home against Brookville and Oswayo Valley on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We know we should have a fair fight in our next three games,” said Bradford head coach Becchelli. “We have to hit the ball. We’re in a hitting slump right now.”

AT BRADFORD

R H E

St. Marys 200 141 0 8 12 1

Bradford 000 000 0 0 2 1

SMA: Eckels (10 SO, 0 BB) and Surra

BRD: Dixon (3 SO, 2 BB) and Johnson