Francesca Ingargiola is Bishop Kearney’s slapper. The junior hits near the bottom of the order, moves runners over and makes things happen on the bases with her speed. But with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the sixth Tigers coach Nick Trani asked Ingargiola to turn around righty and swing away.
“I was real nervous because I was more comfortable with slapping definitely, but we needed hits rather than bunts so I just went for it,” she said.
She delivered a two-run single up the middle to help extend Kearney’s lead to four runs after Sam Simon drove in another. Ingargiola’s job wasn’t done with Mary Louis trying to rally in the top of the seventh. She converted three put outs in left field, including the final one with the bases loaded. It sealed Bishop Kearney’s 6-4 win over the Hilltoppers in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens softball Monday at Cunningham Park.
“I was looking at the batter,” she said. “I just had a feeling for some reason that it was going to come. I wanted to make sure that we ended it quickly.”
That’s because she and her team, ranked No. 10 in the CHSAA, saw No. 5 Mary Louis (6-4) come back and beat them, 12-11 in eight innings, earlier this season in Brooklyn after Kearney (5-6) led 10-2 after the first three innings. The game popped back in their heads after freshman Nicole Hubert delivered a two-RBI single in the seventh and then loaded the bases. Alyssa McDonald allowed eight hits, struck out five and walked four for Kearney.
“I said, ‘Oh here we go again.’ We are holding the lead and they are coming back,” Trani said.
This time the Tigers were able to hold on. They took the lead for good in the fifth when Allison Gasparino doubled home Ingargiola, who reached on a fielder’s choice. Simon added an RBI and later scored from third on an wild pitch to make it 3-2.
“They hung tough and they made the plays,” Trani said.
The win is the first by a Brooklyn team over a top-three Queens league foe this season, something that should give Kearney some confidence during the regular season’s final week and into the playoffs. It also gave the upset win it nearly had the first time the two teams met.
“We couldn’t get a win that time,” Ingargiola said. “But we definitely came back and proved it this time.”
