With a combined eight different Philadelphia Catholic League softball and baseball teams having qualified for the PIAA state tournament that began Monday, June 2, excitement beckoned.
Then the results started coming in, and the mood shifted.
All four PCL baseball teams – defending champion Bonner & Prendiein Class 6A, Archbishop Wood and Archbishop Ryan in Class 4A, and Neumann-Goretti in Class 3A – watched their respective seasons come to a halt.
Meanwhile, defending softball champion Cardinal O’Hara lost a heartbreaking 5-4 decision to Class 5A visitor West Chester East, Class 4A Conwell-Egan succumbed in a 16-13 shootout, and Bonner & Prendie was overwhelmed, 10-0, in another 4A bout.
Nazareth Academy, however, experienced a much different fate. Against Villa Joseph Marie in a Class 3A affair at Conwell-Egan High School, the finest all-around performance of senior pitcher Jill DiMario’s career powered the Pandas to a 3-0 shutout.
Dark Monday had come and gone.
Nazareth Academy stood tall as the lone survivor.
“That game was such an amazing feeling,” said DiMario, a third-team All-Catholic.
“This game was one of the most important ones, because knowing it could be the last game of my season hurt. But we as a team proved to each other what we were capable of and knew that game wasn’t the end. We went out, determined to win, and played for each other with such heart and passion.”
DiMario, a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist in Morrisville, fired a three-hit shutout with no walks and eight strikeouts. At the plate, she went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Sophomore teammate Keiragh Kryzwicki contributed two hits, a home run, and two runs scored. Senior Hailey Kober chipped in with two hits and a double.
Although the Pandas fell to Mid-Valley, 13-2, in the quarterfinals three days later, Nazareth’s first-ever softball state tournament victory as a member of the PCL since joining last year punctuated a season that included a 7-3 record and a No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
“For several of us to be representatives in state tournaments at all is a testament to how strong our league is and how we make each other better,” said Nazareth coach Danielle Vittitow. “While each team had different paths after our league play was complete, making it to the quarterfinals against such stiff competition is saying something.
“There is certainly a bit of pride and satisfaction in being the lone PCL team to make the quarterfinals. We reiterate that to our players. They should be proud of where they are, how they got there, and celebrate this season because they represented the league and Nazareth so well.”
With virtually the same lineup, Nazareth Academy progressed from last year’s 5-5, No. 6 seed finish highlighted by a three-game winning streak to end the regular season.
This year, the Pandas began with a 7-6, come-from-behind win at Archbishop Wood, thus becoming the first Nazareth Academy program to defeat perennially strong Vikings in any sport. Their 7-3 record included a key win over four-seed Bonner-Prendergast.
“Our growth is something we are proud of,” said Vittitow. “There are some incredibly gifted players in this league and to know that we worked our way through those teams and were still playing in June against a top ranked team in the state is something.”
For DiMario, graduating from Nazareth and moving onto college ball at Stevenson University in Maryland, where she will major in nursing, feels bittersweet.
“Our season was filled with hard work, determination, love, passion, and dedication,” said DiMario. “We were each other’s light in the bad moments, we never gave up, and being a senior who just finished my last season with this team, I will forever cherish the dedication and bonds this team had.”
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Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com or on ‘X’ @johnknebels
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