Archbishop Mitty, with an unbeaten record, is running away with the West Catholic Athletic League softball title. But there are other girls in the league who can play and some of them are going to be around for a while.
St. Ignatius defeated host Notre Dame-Belmont 2-1 in eight innings on a sunny Tuesday on Ralston Avenue, behind stellar pitching from senior Carrie McKewan and a clutch hit from junior Nicole Barbieri. Barbieri is one of five underclassmen in the starting lineup for the Wildcats.
Notre Dame-Belmont, with no senior starters, was impressive behind the strong right arm of Lindsey Mifsud. Mifsud, a sophomore, is one of seven Tiger starters who have not yet reached the 11th grade.
"Notre Dame has improved," Wildcats coach Paul Webb said. "Mifsud is phenomenal. She's the real deal and their coach (Tara Van Meter) is doing a tremendous job."
Tied 1-1, Mifsud got the first two outs of the eighth inning, but then Sarah Jensen hit a single to center field. She advanced to second on a throwing error and then scored on Barbieri's line-drive single to the right of second base.
"I was really nervous because my first two hits (Barbieri was 0-for-3 until her game-winner) weren't too good," she said. "I just swung my bat and luckily got that hit. I was so excited that my heart skipped a beat."
Also jubilant was winning pitcher McKewan, who gave up just six hits, struck out seven and walked one, using an effective rise ball as her out pitch.
"I knew it would be a good battle," said McKewan who noted both she and Mifsud both go to the same San Carlos pitching coach (Martha Vargas). "I pretty much just threw rise balls and curve balls and a few change-ups, but my rise ball was my strikeout pitch."
St. Ignatius (13-11 overall, 6-4 WCAL) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Tara Fallahee's RBI double.
Notre Dame-Belmont (12-11, 3-6) tied the game in the sixth with an unearned run. Jennifer Donohue reached first on an error, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Olivia Geronimo's single.
Mifsud was effective, allowing eight hits, striking out 10 and walking four.
"They are a hard team and we lost to them 7-0 the first time," Mifsud said. "So I'm not disappointed at all by this game. We only have one senior and we're getting better."
Despite the loss, the Tigers have still won four of five games, with three of those victories coming in league.
McKewan, Fallahee and Jensen all had two hits for St. Ignatius, which won its fourth consecutive game. Freshman Danica Kazakoff had two hits for Notre Dame-Belmont.
Notre Dame-Belmont is at Mitty at 3:30 p.m. Friday. St. Ignatius hosts Presentation.
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John Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@Prep2Prep.com and followed on Twitter @PrepCat
