It was a phenomenal season for St. Hubert, but the Bambies came up just short in their upset bid.
Isabel Hoch is a good listener, and for that, Archbishop Ryan is very grateful.
Like any veteran softball player, Hoch has been told time and again that when a batter puts the ball in play, good things can happen. So in a pivotal situation during Wednesday’s Catholic League championship against St. Hubert at Arcadia University, Hoch tapped into that tedious but incredibly wise mantra.
“I didn’t want to try and do too much,” said the junior infielder. “Just pick out a good pitch, put a good swing on it, and make good contact.”
The situation was the kind that athletes — or nonathletes, for that matter — often fantasize about. It was the bottom of the sixth, and Ryan trailed the Bambies, 2–1. St. Hubert junior pitcher Melissa Hess was on cruise control, having retired 11 straight, five by strikeout.
Four batters later, Hoch stood at the plate with two on (singles by sophomore rightfielder Skylar Elliott and senior pitcher Kerri Dadalski) and two out. If ever there was a must-score situation, this was it.
In what will one day be remembered as one of the great clutch performances (more on that later) by an individual player in a championship game, Hoch lifted a high fly ball to right field. Off the bat, it appeared as though a third out was imminent, but seemingly out of nowhere, the ball appeared to hit a wind current and stopped mid-flight, landing about a foot inside the foul line. Running on contact, both runners scored easily.
As Hoch motored to third on an errant throw, Ryan’s bench erupted. A tad winded, Hoch was unable to suppress a beaming smile that indicated a combination of relief, celebration and anticipation. A few seconds later, Hoch and her teammates returned to complete focus mode, as there was still much work to do against a Bambies squad that refused to be intimidated despite being, to most, a decided underdog.
“One of the great things about this team is that everybody tries to do her part and rely on everyone else to do hers,” Hoch said. “I was able to get a hit, but that hit doesn’t mean anything unless the players before me get on base.”
After Hoch’s heroics came consecutive RBI singles by senior Michelle Hooten and freshman Kate Ostaszewski (one of three Ostaszewski sisters to provide an integral impact). Now possessing a suddenly comfortable 5–2 lead, the only remaining task for Dadalski — the Most Valuable Pitcher of the Catholic League — was to notch three more outs.
True to St. Hubert’s implacable personality, the visiting seventh was not without a supreme effort. Junior left fielder Brittany Kalesse hit a one-out single, and senior shortstop Jazmin Ortiz followed with a hard grounder up the middle. Like a cat, sophomore shortstop Emily Ostaszewski dove to her left, smothered the ball, crawled on her knees and touched the second-base bag for an unassisted forceout. When Dadalski induced a fly ball that was corralled by junior centerfielder Vicki Black, a marathon triumph celebration commenced.
At precisely 5:39 p.m., the Ragdolls made history by becoming the first Ryan softball team to win consecutive Catholic League championships. Incredibly, the Ragdolls have now mown through the league undefeated two straight seasons, a victory streak that now stands at an eye-popping 30.
“This has been the greatest senior year,” said Dadalski, who uncharacteristically struggled with her command but, as the great hurlers do, secured key outs when necessary. “It wasn’t one of my best games, but it’s all about working together as a team. We trust each other to have each other’s back.”
A storybook season came dangerously close to unraveling in the fifth inning. A Ryan run in the first, courtesy of an RBI single by Dadalski that scored the aforementioned Emily Ostaszewski, had put St. Hubert behind 1–0. But the Bambies, after stranding four runners on base the first four innings, tied the game when junior rightfielder Julia Vizza led off with a double and scored when Kalesse’s grounder to third turned into a two-base error.
After the game-tying play, Ryan’s first-team All-Catholic first baseman, sophomore Reilly Kerr, needed to be helped off the field after suffering a right knee injury — reported later not to be season-ending. Ryan’s first-year coach John Kidwell, a 1989 Ryan grad who previously had spent 23 years as an assistant to the late Andy Hafele (who died before last season and was replaced on an interim basis by Vince Capizzi, Kidwell and other assistants), was then forced to make a variety of position changes. One of them necessitated moving Hoch from second to first base, a decision that paid enormous dividends shortly thereafter.
Following a single by Ortiz that put runners at the corners, senior third baseman Nicole Vandermay brought home the lead run with a single to left field. With Ryan’s pursuit of a second consecutive title now in serious jeopardy, Hoch once again rescued her teammates.
After Bambies junior first baseman Liz Schule slapped a grounder to third, junior Alexa Marasheski fired to first for the out. On the release, Ortiz took off for home, but a picture perfect strike from Hoch to junior catcher and Catholic League MVP Sarah Ostaszewski (sensational defensive game, as usual) nailed Ortiz at the plate, and what could have been a multiple-run deficit was now a much more manageable 2–1.
“She’s a natural shortstop who plays a great second base and this is the first time she played first base for us,” Kidwell said of Hoch. “She has a gun for an arm, and that throw to home . . . put it this way, and this isn’t to slight anyone, I don’t think anyone else could have made that throw.”
Although her eventual game-winning hit served as the most prestigious highlight, Hoch said her toss from first to home was most special.
“I live for plays like that, and I think most players do,” said Hoch. “It’s definitely something you think about. I played first base (in tournament ball) and we worked on that play over and over, so for that to come up at that time, it was exciting.”
In contrast to the exuberant Ragdolls snapping pictures at home plate, dousing Kidwell with a huge bucket of ice water, donning “Ryan 2015 PCL Champions” T-shirts and basking in the reverie of successfully defending their Catholic League crown despite last year’s graduation of five standout starters, Hubert’s coach Dave Schafer and his assistants joined their despondent but emotionally balanced Bambies for a quiet meeting in right field.
Later, Schafer was unable to hide his heartbreak for his never-say-die players who, against one of the best pitchers in Catholic League history, put runners on base in six of the seven innings and smoked several hard drives that were snared by Ryan’s stingy defense.
“We talk a lot about character,” said Schafer, whose Bambies have competed in eight of the past nine championship games, winning four of them. “We constantly get compliments about how our players go about their business. So when you lose, it’s hard, but we have to keep our heads up and remember that we have a lot to be proud of.
“We were 9–10 last year and in sixth place. Nobody gave us a chance coming into this year. But practice to practice, game to game, we kept improving. We felt good about our chances. To be in a situation like this, playing for the Catholic League championship, that’s what you hope for. We came close, but we were unable to overcome one bad inning.”
Next up for Ryan is a District 12 contest on Wednesday against Public League Class AAAA champion Franklin Towne Charter. For the next day or two, it will probably be difficult to descend from the clouds. But by game time, the Ragdolls will be all business.
That’s what championship teams are all about. ••
Ryan junior Isabel Hoch had both the game-winning hit and a game-saving defensive play late in the team’s 5–2 victory over St. Hubert.
Ryan senior leader/pitcher/cleanup hitter Kerri Dadalski (left) celebrates with a leap into the arms of a teammate’s embrace.
The Ragdolls have now won 30 consecutive league contests, a streak they will take into 2016.
Twice as nice: Following a couple of playoff scares, the Archbishop Ryan softball team can breathe easy again, winners of a second consecutive Catholic League crown. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTOS
