Sweeney’s HRs power Mooney
By CURTIS PULLIAM
BOARDMAN
Last season, Bridget Sweeney was the leadoff hitter for the Cardinal Mooney softball team.
Now she’s crushing home runs from the three-hole with ease.
Sweeney added two more home runs to lead the Cardinals past the East Panthers 21-6 in five innings on Tuesday. The sophomore has five home runs this season.
“She’s kind of like Roy Hobbs — she doesn’t know who that is, but she’s kind of like ‘The Natural,’ ” said Cardinals head coach Mark Rinehart. “She has a beautiful swing and a ton of power.”
Sweeney crushed a three-run home run in the first and a two-run shot in the third.
“I hit one grand slam last year but this year it is kind of a shock to me,” Sweeney said.
She later added three more RBIs, finishing with eight in the game.
“I just have to remind myself to have confidence because sometimes I forget that,” Sweeney said. “But I know I work hard and I can hit the ball.”
The Cardinals improve to 8-1 on the year and Sweeney is a big reason for their success.
“Nothing she does surprises me,” Rinehart said. “It looks like it’s effortless, but she puts the time in and she’s a really talented kid.”
Freshmen Kayla Rutherford and Bella Stanko are just two of the nine freshmen on this year’s team.
Freshmen Sydney Shugart picked up the win pitching all five innings.
But Rutherford is the main pitcher for the Cardinals.
“She’s a dominant force,” Rinehart said. “She’s got a chance to be one of the best pitchers we ever had here.”
On Saturday against Cleveland Heights, Rutherford pitch five innings with eight strikeouts in a 14-3 win.
“I just try to stay positive and know that my team has my back,” Rutherford said. “I know that if someone does get a hit that they’ll have it and they’ll get it. I’m super confident.”
Rutherford feels team chemistry is playing a big role in the hot start.
“They’re all super nice and it is just a sisterhood,” Rutherford said. “We all love each other and get along so good. I’ve never been on a team that got along with each other so much.”
Stanko added two hits in the win and believes the team is having fun.
“I love my team,” Stanko said. “We’re all really close and it’s fun to be here.”
Sweeney is hoping her hitting streak can continue so she can set a good example.
“Everyone is counting on me and looking up to me because now I’m not just the freshman,” Sweeney said. “I’m the sophomore that a lot of these freshmen on the team look up to.”
Stanko feels her teammates can keep the high energy going forward.
“We have to keep playing as a team,” Stanko said. If someone makes a mistake you have to pick them up and just keep practicing.”
With 11 of the 16 girls on the roster being underclassmen, Rinehart is excited for the future.
“We always believe in ourselves — obviously we are delighted to be 8-1,” Rinehart said. “We are hitting the ball so well right now that we are making teams look a little worse than they are. But no, we did not expect to jump off to this start with such a young team.”