HIGH SCHOOL-OHIO

Ursuline tops St. Ursula on a walk-off

Mark Schmetzer
Ursuline Academy’s Ellie Glover (1) follows through as she doubles to left field.

Victoria Barreras had eyes on her third base coach and as much of the plate as she could see under St. Ursula senior catcher Lydia Spade.

Barreras, Ursuline's sophomore courtesy runner for junior catcher Olivia Amiott-Seel, found just enough of the plate in a clumsy encounter with Spade to score the winning run in the Lions' 2-1 win over the Bulldogs in a Girls Greater Catholic League softball game Thursday at the Blue Ash Sports Center.

"I had no idea what I was doing," said Barreras, who got caught between trying to score the winning run and adhering to the rule prohibiting contact with the catcher. "I think I touched a corner of the plate. I didn't see the hit fall. I just watched my coach."

The umpires conferred briefly about the play before allowing the run to stand, snapping St. Ursula's three-game winning streak – all by one run – and allowing Ursuline, the No. 6 team in the Enquirer Division I coaches' poll, to win its league opener after going undefeated in the league to capture the GGCL Scarlet Division championship last season.

"She's a very good, aggressive defensive catcher," Ursuline coach Heather Frietch said of Spade. "The rule is you're supposed to slide, but she was blocking the plate, so you're supposed to try to avoid contact at all costs."

Amiott-Seel started the winning rally with a one-out single on a spinning, hard-to-handle grounder to junior second baseman Megan Chapman. Junior left fielder Emma Darlington sacrificed Barreras to second, setting up freshman center fielder Ellie Glover's bloop single to left field that fell amidst three Bulldog defenders.

"That's us lately," first-year St. Ursula coach Jon Sheehan said. "We defense up – except for that last play – but we've been struggling offensively."

Thursday's game resumed after a rain delay of almost eight full days. The two teams were supposed to play April 2, and St. Ursula took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on junior shortstop Katherine Jones' RBI single before rain forced the game to be postponed with one out in the bottom of the first.

Senior right-hander Danielle Stiene resumed her start on the mound for the Lions and turned in six shutout innings, finishing with 13 strikeouts and one walk while allowing five hits.

Sophomore right-hander Sammy Gilbert took over for junior Megan Chapman on the mound for the Bulldogs and allowed just three hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in 6 2/3 innings.

The Lions tied the game on a play similar to the game-winner. Junior first baseman Anna Hecht led off the second with a ringing triple to right-center field.

One out later, Darlington reached first while striking out on a passed ball, and Hecht scored in a pileup with Spade on the back end of a double steal.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Gilbert's diving catch in foul territory along the first base line of Ursuline senior second baseman Kaitlin Barbiere's pop-up to end the fifth inning.

STAR OF THE GAME: Stiene, whose pitching helped open the door for the Lions' comeback.

VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE: Sheehan on the game as a microcosm for the GGCL season: "It's going to be a dogfight in the league."

EXTRA INNINGS: St. Ursula already has a non-league win over No. 10 Harrison, while Ursuline opened with a win over Ross, the top-ranked team in the Division II-IV coaches' poll, and beat Division I No. 7 Loveland, 6-2, on Wednesday.

WP – Stiene (3-0, 13 K). LP – Gilbert (2-1). Hitting leaders: S – Hancock 2-2, U – Hecht 3B, SB. Records: S 3-2 (1-1 GGCL), U 3-0 (1-0 GGCL).