Muffoletto’s bat lifts Spellman

Muffoletto’s bat lifts Spellman

Monica Muffoletto is admittedly nervous every time she steps into the batter’s box. So you can imagine the pressure the Cardinal Spellman junior centerfielder must have been feeling when she was at the plate with the winning run at second and one out in the bottom of the seventh.

Muffoletto delivered a walk-off single to complete a 7-6 come-from-behind victory for host Cardinal Spellman over Our Lady of Victory in the first game of a CHSAA Bronx/Westchester doubleheader Saturday. The Falcons lost the second game, 15-4, to division-leading Preston, but the win over Victory keeps Spellman in second place.

Spellman (5-4) trailed by that margin after just two innings, but slowly chipped away. It scored twice in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Corianne Seigel and a sacrifice fly from Kimberly Biolsi. The comeback continued the following inning.

Sophia Ponce led off with a walk and later came home on a passed ball, after stealing second and third. With the bases loaded, Linda McCaffrey walked to bring home a run and a sac fly by Biolsi tied the score at 5-5. The Falcons took a 6-5 lead on a double by Muffoletto that scored Victoria Quinones, who also doubled.

Victory tied the score in the top of seventh.

Things didn’t start out well again for the Falcons against Preston in the second game. They trailed 10-0 after four innings and cut the lead to 10-4 in the fifth, but there would be no comeback this time. Preston, the defending league champions, scored five more times in the seventh to make it 15-4. Francis Trosa was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, two RBIs and a run scored.