April 24, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mount softball dazzled by Jems
by TOM UTESCHER

Sophomore Alyssa Drummy went the distance for MSJ in Thursday’s game. For more photos visit www.chlocalphotos.com. (Photo by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

Following Tuesday’s 5-0 setback at the hands of undefeated league leader St. Basil’s, Mount St. Joseph Academy’s softball team was looking to rebound with a home-field win last Thursday in another Athletic Association of Catholic Academies contest.

However, visiting pitcher Jamie Kloss and the Jems of Villa Joseph Marie had other ideas. Kloss hurled a no-hitter with two strike-outs and just one walk, and the Jems jolted the Magic defense with 15 hits. They built up an 11-0 lead that brought the ten-run-lead rule into effect to end the game after six innings. For the Mount, sophomore pitcher Alyssa Drummy finished with one strike-out and no walks, while yielding 15 hits.

In the battle for the middle ground in the AACA, Villa Joe improved to 5-3, and the Magic leveled off at 4-4. Back at the beginning of April, the Jems had defeated the Mount in a much closer game, 2-1.

“Give them credit,” MSJ coach Matt Cronin said after last week’s rematch. “They played very well, and they were able to hit the ball where we weren’t.”

Mount St. Joe went into the game without two regular starters. In the St. Basil game, MSJ senior Jo Krasnisky was hit twice by pitches, suffering a sprained finger on the second occasion. That put the Magic’s number one pitcher out of action on Thursday, and shortly before the game she was joined on the DL by junior left fielder Melissa Waters.

The Magic lacked chemistry when playing the field; there were four actual errors, and several other sequences when lack of communication allowed fly balls to fall to earth for hits.

With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, MSJ junior Danielle Luskin drew a walk. She was left on first as the next batter lined out to Villa Joe’s Kloss, and she would be the only Magic player to get on base throughout the afternoon.

In the top of the third Kim Wisniewski, the Jems number nine hitter, tripled down the right field line. An error put another runner on for the visitors, then both of them came home on a hit up the middle by Kerriann Kane, giving Villa Joe all the runs it would need for the victory.