By John Knebels • Posted May 31, 2024

It has become an annual event.

For the fourth consecutive season, Conwell-Egan reached the Philadelphia Catholic League softball final. For the second straight year, the Eagles celebrated a championship.

With senior Lauren Bretzel supplying much of the offense along with strong pitching on a lovely May 20 at Neumann University, Conwell-Egan defeated Archbishop Ryan, 10-5, in eight innings.

“This ranks up there as one of the best,” said CEC legendary coach Sandy Hart, who captured her 12^th title since taking over the PCL’s most historic program in 1994. “They kept coming back. We have a team that battles, and when you have that, anything can happen.”

Trailing 2-1 on a pair of unearned runs, the two-seed Eagles tied the game in the fourth inning on a groundout by sophomore Grace Bilardo. After Ryan regained a 3-2 lead on an RBI single by junior Izzie Baron in the bottom of the sixth, C-E was three outs away from defeat.

With one out, sophomore Angelina Pandolfi (two runs scored) and junior Amariah McKnight (3-for-3, two walks, RBI) both drew a walk. After a single by Cecelia McBeth (two hits, two runs scored, RBI) loaded the bases, Bretzel tied the game with a single. After a single by Deanna Porter (two RBI) gave the Eagles a 4-3 lead, a bases loaded wild pitch supplied an insurance run.

But Archbishop Ryan, the top seed with a lineup filled with sluggers, refused to go down without a fight.

With two outs and two strikes, Ryan senior PCL position player of the year Mya Diorio kept the game alive when she was hit by a pitch. Up stepped senior cleanup hitter Maya Chambliss, who unloaded a massive two-run homer over the left-field fence to tie the game at 5-5.

“My heart dropped, as I’m sure most of my teammates’ did, too,” said senior leadoff hitter Molly Milewski, who contributed two hits and two runs scored. “But then my mindset changed. It was like a zero-zero game again. Then it became – get the last out, and then hit the ball.”

In the top of the eighth, the Eagles continued to flaunt their offensive capabilities. After loading the bases on three straight infield singles, McBeth, who in the sixth inning had executed an amazing double play at shortstop, singled home the go-ahead run. With the sacks loaded, Bretzel delivered the biggest hit of her life, a line-drive triple just inside the right-field foul line that cleared the bases. As Bretzel slid into third, her teammates and the Conwell-Egan crowd went ballistic.

Although the Ragdolls put two runners on base in their half of the eighth, Bretzel ultimately struck out two and induced a pop fly, which McBeth swallowed to end the game.

With their championship successfully defended, the Eagles raced to the mound to celebrate with Bretzel, who had just made history by becoming the first PCL softball player to win a championship with two different teams.

As a freshman at Archbishop Ryan in 2021, the graduate of Bensalem’s St. Ephrem grade school pitched the final inning to clinch the Ragdolls’ 10-6 victory over Conwell-Egan. After transferring to Conwell-Egan, Bretzel and crew lost a 3-2 decision to Archbishop Wood in the 2022 final. She then helped the Eagles upend Ryan, 6-3, last year, before finishing her PCL postseason career in lethal form.

In two playoff games, including a 10-3 win over three-seed Archbishop Carroll in the semifinals, Bretzel went a staggering six-for-eight with a double, triple, walk, and seven runs batted in. Every time Bretzel reached first, sophomore Lauren Berard replaced her as a courtesy runner and eventually crossed the plate six times. As a pitcher, Bretzel hurled 15 innings and allowed only six earned runs and 14 hits without a single walk.

Coming into high school as a freshman, Bretzel said she never would have believed her ultimate journey.

“What I enjoyed most about the game is that Egan softball is such a huge family and we always support each other,” said Bretzel, who will attend Widener University as an engineering major. “During the game we just never gave up and battled through. I love that so much.

“Being on the mound with such strong support amazes me. Knowing I have a talented team behind me gives me the confidence to be at the top of my game. Seeing all the supporters in the crowd and hearing their cheers is something I’ll never forget. But the best feeling was throwing that last pitch, getting the last out to win another PCL championship, and flooding the center of the infield.”

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Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com or on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) @johnknebels.