MILLTOWN – A long day came to a satisfying end for the Saint Mark’s softball team. Tanai Tippens lined a single to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring Maddie Casapulla with the walkoff run in a 3-2 win over St. Georges on May 17. It was the Spartans’ second win of the afternoon; they defeated Indian River, 10-5, earlier in the afternoon.
Runs were hard to come by, although Saint Mark’s got started in a big way. Chloe Bedwell led off the bottom of the first, and she smacked the second pitch she saw over the fence in right-center field for a home run. It was also her 100th career hit.
Hawks pitcher Alaina Baber and her defense cooled the Spartans’ bats after that. She retired nine of the next 10 batters she faced, with the only base runner coming on a two-out error in the third. The Spartans added a second run in the fourth. Karlee Cathcart doubled with one out, moved to third on a groundout and scored when Kate Lovett tripled down the right-field line.
Meanwhile, the Spartans kept the Hawks off the scoreboard for the first four innings. Kimorah Neal helped turn a double play in the first, and Bedwell ended the first with a lunging catch in center. St. Georges had runners in each of the first four innings, including two in the fourth, but Saint Mark’s held them scoreless.
The Hawks tied the game in the fifth when Baber tripled to right with one out to score a pair of runs. She was stranded there after a line drive to Tippens and a strikeout.
Casapulla reached on an error to open the bottom of the seventh, and Neal singled to center. Bedwell sacrificed, advancing both runners, before Tippens ended the game with her base hit.
It was the final regular-season game for both teams. Saint Mark’s improved to 15-3 and will find out their seeding in the softball state tournament on Sunday afternoon. The Hawks closed out the season 10-8.
Photos by Mike Lang.
