Stephanie Barbaro didn’t want to get too excited as she stepped to the plate with the bases loaded for the second straight inning. The first time up the Mary Louis junior doubled home three runs with a blast to the right center field gap.
“I’m just thinking do the same thing. Don’t get anxious. Wait back on it,” Barbaro said. “Hopefully come up with a hit, at least get the girl home from third.”
She did much more than that. The TMLA catcher launched a bases-clearing triple to deep right field to cap a five-run inning. Barbaro went 3-for-3 with a walk and a career-high six RBIs to lead a potent offensive attack in a 14-5 win against Christ the King in both teams’ CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens opener Monday at Cunningham Park.
“I thought she was going to put one over today,” Mary Louis coach Ginny Peiser said. “She was swinging the bat really well.”
So was the rest of her team. Mary Louis collected 11 hits, including five for extra bases, against CK starter Amanda Gauthier. The Hilltoppers scored in every inning but one and had every batter in their lineup score at least one run. Taylor Schiavi was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, Deirdre Munday walked and scored three times and Jen Falcone walked, scored twice and delivered an RBI double in the fourth.
“I’m not surprised it went up and down the lineup,” said Barbaro, who helped give TMLA an 8-1 lead after two innings.
TMLA picked up another run in the third on an Alyssa Paolicelli RBI triple to make it 9-2. Starter Rebecca Warne, who struck out six, allowed just one run on three hits and three walks in the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth. She struck two of the first three batters out around a walk. Warne then walked Gauthier, gave up a two-RBI double to Erica Eddy and a run-scoring double to Kim Velez as the Royals got within 9-5. Freshman Nicole Hubert came on in relief to strikeout Destiny Marino to end the threat. TMLA got two runs in the bottom of the inning and three in the sixth.
“She is very calm,” Peiser said of Hubert. “She has a bulldog attitude, which I like as a freshman.”
Hubert kept the Royals at bay after that by mixing her pitches and locations. She allowed just one hit, but walked four and hit two batters in 2-2/3 innings of relief. She stranded runners on first and second with two outs in the sixth. Hubert fanned Gabby Gonzalez to open the seventh, but after loading the bases saw Erin Guilfoyle come in to get the final batters.
“I would have just wanted to finish the game, but everything else was pretty much how I wanted it to go,” Hubert said.
The game played out much how the Hilltoppers would have like also. They jumped ahead early, hit up and down the lineup and showed off their pitching depth.
“We always want to score first,” Barbaro said. “When you score first you get to do more with your offense. It definitely helps.”