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Mooney rallies past Poland
Rutherford whiffs 15 to lead Mooney in opener
By Brooke Meenacahn
Boardman
The Cardinal Mooney softball team used a fifth-inning rally to start its season off with a 4-3 win over Poland Wednesday at the Fields of Dreams.
“It was exciting to get back out here because we have a talented team,” Mooney head coach Mark Rinehart said. “We love practicing, but we were ready to come out and play games and see all that talent and hard work on the field,” .
The Cardinals (1-0) trailed 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth. Jordan McLay reached on an error, Kelly Williams laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her over and Conchetta Rinaldi reached on another error. Kayla Rutherford walked to load the bases for Bridget Sweeney.
Sweeney roped a double off the center-field fence to bring in two runs.
CJ Happ stepped up to bat with bases loaded and one out. The freshman hit a slow roller to third and the Bulldogs got the force out at home. But they then tried to go for the double play at first, but Happ beat out the throw and smart base running by Sweeney gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.
“We got a couple big breaks and a big hit from Sweeney,” Rinehart said. “She ran the bases like a senior.” Poland coach Jim Serich said “little mistakes” were a factor.
“Three unearned runs in one inning, that will do it to you every time,” Serich said.
It was the first time this year that the Cardinals stepped on the field for a seven-inning game as Mooney didn’t schedule any scrimmages.
“I was really excited to come out and I’m happy with the win, but I was pretty nervous because I wanted to come back stronger than I did last season,” Rutherford said.
Rutherford recorded 15 strikeouts and gave up six hits in seven innings.
“Kayla was magnificent,” Rinehart said. “When she is on her game, we are as good as anyone in the area. There’s no question about it.”
But the junior struggled to find her spots at times and the Bulldogs took advantage.
Sara Boccieri homered for Poland and Ally Nittoli recorded an RBI double in the fourth to put the Bulldogs up, 2-1. Harley Kish singled to right for a 3-1 edge.
“You can’t let that bother you. You just have to be like ‘OK, next girl. Forget about that. You have to live in the present and not live in the past,’” Rutherford said.
Fortunately for the junior, her team bounced back.
“It was a total team effort,” Rinehart said. “Our girls like each other and support each other. We’re building a team with chemistry and the best teams have chemistry. Talent means something, but chemistry means a lot more sometimes.”
While the Cardinals are hoping their chemistry takes them far this season, the Bulldogs are working to get their young players some varsity experience.
“We’re young,” Serich said. “We’re struggling, but we come out attacking every game. We’re not backing down from anybody.”
The Bulldogs have only a few players with varsity experience.
“It’s tough when you start a season out with no pitcher having one inning of varsity experience,” Serich said. “So we’re doing the best we can.”
Brooke Bobbey threw well for the Bulldogs, allowing one earned run on seven hits.
“We had a little trouble getting our bats started,” Rinehart said. “Their pitcher threw it pretty well. Always early in the season seeing that live pitching for the first time is going to give you some struggles.”
Not only are the Bulldogs a young team, but they are limited.
“We’re rotating kids in and out,” Serich said. “I have 20 total kids and one girl was on a school trip. So I have to fill two teams with with 19 kids. We only had nine in the dugout. It’s a juggling act, but I’m trying to make the best of it.”