pvi softball

PVI Softball, Ireton Tennis

By David Steinbacher
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of 4/19/07)

The Pope Paul VI Panther softball team is currently in second place in the WCAC and has its sights set on a banner 2007 season. The Lady Panthers, coached by E.J. Thomas, currently weigh-in at 11-3 overall for the season.
"Our defense, our hitters and our pitching situation is good," said Thomas, a 10-year veteran at PVI.
In chronological order, the Panthers started the season 5-0 with wins versus Holy Cross (9-0), St. Mary's Ryken (3-0), Bishop McNamara (11-1/six innings), Good Counsel (7-3) and St. Mary's Ryken (9-1).
When undefeated Paul VI met undefeated Bishop O'Connell in Arlington in late March, something had to give.
In the top of the first inning, the Panthers sent five batters to the plate but stranded two and did not score. The real damage occurred when junior Panther pitcher Julia Moore absorbed a finger injury while in the process of batting.
O'Connell senior pitcher Kelley Engman's inside pitch was swung on by Moore and it caromed off of the bat and Moore’s right index finger (on her pitching hand) simultaneously — which broke the finger and forced a change in the Panthers’ subsequent pitching plans.
The Panthers lost the game to O'Connell 12-0, to drop their record to 5-1 on the season. Moore, in 30 innings of early season pitching, had struck out 55 and had an ERA of 0.40.
Regarding his needs for a "relief" pitcher to take over for Moore, Thomas turned to junior right hander Anna Kvartunas who has done a commendable job during the ensuing nine games.
Following the O'Connell loss, with Kvartunas on the mound, the Panthers have subsequently won six and have lost two.
Though the Panthers dropped their ensuing game to archrival Ireton 5-3, PVI then ripped off five consecutive wins in early April: Georgetown Visitation (15-3/five innings), St. John’s 23-2 (five innings), Falls Church (16-4), Onondaga, N.Y. (5-1) and Weaver, Ohio (2-0).
Sporting a 10-2 record, the Panthers dropped their next contest to Liverpool, N.Y. 2-0. Most recently, PVI defeated Chancellor, Ohio, 3-0 to currently weigh-in at 11-3 overall.
Their four most recent contests (April 9-13) took place over Easter/spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C., at the "Grand Strand" Tournament in which PVI finished third overall out of 16 teams.
The Panthers starting lineup generally consists of freshman catcher Samantha Bracken (.382 batting average), senior first baseman Jackie Rogers (.378/team leading 15 RBI's and two home runs), senior second baseman Maggi Prisinzano (.325), junior third baseman Kathryn Naylor (.458/team leading 18 runs scored and 14 stolen bases), junior shortstop Natalia Gruenbaum (.279), junior center fielder Megan Calabrese (.308) and sophomore right fielder Tara Wood (.429).
More often than not, junior Alex Wildes plays left field defensively and freshman "designated hitter" Kaitlin Smith bats for Wildes in the lineup offensively.
The other two players on the roster, junior Jackie Deane and sophomore Catherine Murphy, play the outfield and infield respectively. Prisinzano, Moore and Naylor are the Lady Panther captains.
"Chemistry-wise, we play as a unit this season,” said Prisinzano. “Others picked up the slack once Julia got hurt. We want to go out and fight to the end in every game. We hope to be the team holding the trophy at the end of this season."
"I expect Julia (Moore) to be back as our pitcher starting April 17,” said Thomas. “At the same time, we can't just say that because Julia is back that we are going to automatically win. We just have to keep our intensity up. We can't get lazy. We still have to play good defense and we still have to swing the bat. We need to score runs to beat the top teams in this league."

<head18>Ireton Tennis Team Adjusts to New Coach
<body>The young Bishop Ireton tennis team is in the process of building for the future. The Cardinals had a sudden coaching change merely weeks ago and currently weigh-in at 2-5 overall in the current campaign.
Former standout player Hillary Breheny (class of ’04) took over the coaching reins days before the spring season began.
"I went in to apply for the girls’ head coaching position — which commences in the fall of '07. The next thing that I knew I was sort of thrust into the boys’ spring head coaching position. At first, I was kind of stressed out, but since then I have moved into the job with ease. It has been great to be accepted by the boys’ team. This is really a building year here at Ireton," said Breheny.
On the season, Ireton has defeated Bishop McNamara (7-2) and St. Mary's Ryken (7-2). In the tough WCAC, Ireton has dropped close matches to Paul VI and to St. John’s and one-sided matches to O'Connell, Gonzaga and DeMatha.
The starting lineup includes sophomore Dexter Phan (singles No. 1), junior Alex Cruz (No. 2), sophomore Michael Parente (No. 3), junior Jake McConville (No. 4), junior Frank Hamer (No. 5) and junior David Habib (No. 6).
Parente (5-2 overall record) and McConville (3-3) and Habib (3-3) lead the Cardinals in individual win percentage.
"Michael is a very consistent player who plays smart and knows how to win a point,” said Breheny. “Jake has a very positive attitude and is a strong player and a strong individual. David has really made some big strides on the court this spring already."
"My serve and my forehand has improved from freshman year to sophomore year,” said Parente. “I've got more experience and I'm able to stay in matches better."
"We really do like coach Breheny a lot,” he added. “We do a lot of team stuff together. She helps us with our conditioning and with our strengthening."
The Cardinals are scheduled to visit St. Mary's Ryken April 17 and have home matches with Paul VI (April 18) and St. John’s (April 19).