Courtney's three-hitter earns first regional trip

Dana Palazzo's three-run double sealed the victory.
GREENFORD -- Before Mark Reinhart took over as coach of the Cardinal Mooney softball team in 1993, the program was mired in futility.
Even a .500 season was considered a lofty goal. But after 10 years of softball, things started to turn the corner. Reinhart has built a program that has not only been competitive, but is now considered to be one of the Mahoning Valley's strongest.
That transformation from pretenders to contenders took another giant leap on Wednesday. Mooney, which was 0-3 in district championship games, finally earned the program's elusive first title with a dominating 10-0 victory over Columbiana in five innings at the South Range Sports Complex in a Division III district title game.
"This really means a lot to see this program come from nothing when it started in the mid-1980s to its first district championship," Reinhart said.
"We play a lot of big schools and take some losses, but we seem to advance this title game and this time we finally won it," Reinhart said. "We finished [district runner-up] in 1999, 2003 and last year, and I'll tell you what:This gold medal looks a lot better than the silver one."
Dominant
The fact that the Cardinals finally grabbed their first district title after two near-misses is only part of the story. Just as compelling was the dominating fashion in which they did it.
Mooney pounded the ball against Columbiana from start to finish, tallying 12 hits in four innings. Eight of the nine batters in the lineup registered a base hit and the one that didn't reached on a Columbiana error.
The Cardinals jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning on RBI hits from Mara Palombaro, Gina Brunetti and Laura Guyer.
Reinhart pointed to that fast start as a big factor in the final result.
"We hit the ball hard all day and it was huge to get those three runs right off the bat," he said. "We forced them to make tough plays and we had control of the game. We were able to relax and still be aggressive."
After stranding three runners on base in the second inning, Mooney got on the scoreboard again in the third. Senior Dana Palazzo led off the frame with a single moved to third on a Guyer single and scored on a ball hit by Kaitlyn Bernat that Columbiana mishandled.
Pitching with a 4-0 lead, Mooney's Colleen Courtney did her part. The Clippers managed just three hits, all singles. The Cardinals' defense was stellar, committing no errors.
Palazzo doubles
Not content with their advantage, the Cardinals ended any doubt in the fourth inning. Sending 11 hitters to the plate, Mooney put up enough runs in the outburst to put the game out of reach.
The big blow came off the bat of Palazzo, who ripped a double to left to clear the bases and drive in three runs. That put Mooney ahead 7-0 and the Cardinals added three more in the inning to force Columbiana (20-5) in a must-score situation in the fifth inning.
Courtney set the Clippers down in order to preserve the shutout.
"This is unreal right now," said Palazzo, who had two hits and three RBIs. "This is for the girls who worked so hard this season. This was our goal and we really came to together to make it happen.
"After that tough start in the beginning of the season, we really started hitting the ball and got on a roll," Palazzo said. "And once one girl started hitting, everyone else got confidence and we have kept it going."
Mooney (18-8) advances on to the Division III regional tournament at Genshaft Park in Massillon for a game Wednesday at 5 p.m.