Cardinal Spellman has been one of the top teams in CHSAA Bronx/Westchester, but has struggled in recent years against the division’s elite – namely rival Preston. With a veteran team coach Dan Crane was hoping to change that trend this season, but it wasn’t going so well early.
“In the first three innings I didn’t think we were doing it well, but then we settled down,” he said. “That’s the beautiful think about this game. You play seven innings. In those last four innings we looked like the team I think that we can be.”
Preston scored all seven runs in the opening three frames on six hits. After that Spellman and starter Tiffany Rondon kept its rival off the scoreboard before falling 7-2 at home in CHSAA Bronx/Westchester softball Thursday in just its third game or scrimmage of the year.
“She calmed down, we calmed down,” Crane said. “We got into some type of groove.”
Rondon, who is in her third season in the circle, said she didn’t do anything special after the first three frames, but just calmed herself to the initial adrenaline of playing the Panthers (1-1). Crane credited catcher Malaya Lambert’s improved ability to call a game. Rondon allowed just one hit over the final four innings, walking three and striking out five batters.
“Coming into a game against Preston it’s always competition, energy, let’s go,” Rondon said. “I had to settle down and do what I had to do.”
The Panthers (3-0) scored three in the first inning, highlighted by a two-out, two-run single by Krista Rinaldi. Spellman had a chance to get out of the top of the second without a run crossing the plate, but a low throw to first by Angie Arroyo stopped them from picking off Sabrina D’Ancona for a double play. Crane decided to walk Preston star third baseman Laura Montalto to load the bases with two outs, but Kitty Lagqui delivered a bases-clearing double to give her team a 6-1 lead and her fourth RBI of the game.
“I said to [Montalto] when she was standing at third base, ‘I’ve been watching you for three years, what do you think I am stupid? I pitch to you, you see what happens,’” Crane joked.
His team got a run in the first inning thanks to a triple by Joanne Guerra and an RBI single from Victoria Quinones and other in the six with Jillian Santiago drove home Lambert. Spellman left pleased with its ability to stabilize the game after the early adversity and hopes it’s a precursor of things to come as it gets more games under its belt.
“If we do have an error sometimes we will get a little nervous, but we shake that off usually and still play our game,” Rondon said. “We played a great game against them regardless. They are a great team. We kept our heads in it.”
