Rams Nearly Pull Off Upset of No. 3 Ursuline, but Fall, 2-1

CARMEL - The Carmel High softball team dropped a heartbreaker last Tuesday, as No. 3 seed Ursuline produced a run in the bottom of the seventh inning that broke a 1-1 deadlock, giving the Koalas a 2-1 victory over the Rams in a Section 1 Class AA quarterfinal in New Rochelle.

Monica Schult and the Carmel Rams fell to No. 3 Ursuline, 2-1, in last week's AA quarterfinals. Christina Fletcher singled in the seventh for Ursuline (17-5), advanced to second on a fielder's choice, and scored the game-winning run on a two-out single off the bat of Marisa Bird.

Even more painful for 11th seed Carmel (11-8) was the fact that Ursuline's first run of the game was unearned.

Kristen Rodopoulos led off the Koalas third by reaching on an error. She was bunted over to second, and scored the game's first run on a two-out single by Lauren Iorio, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Kristina Maguire knocked in Carmel's only run of the game in the top of the fifth. Sarah McCormack went 2-for- 3 with a double.

The loss marks the end of what turned out to be a strong season for Carmel, which started out the spring at 2-6, before going 9-2 the rest of the way, including a first-round playoff upset victory over No. 6 Lincoln last week.

Taylor Pirone allowed just five hits and picked up the win for Ursuline. Monica Schult was almost as good, limiting the Koalas to six hits, but took the loss for the Rams.

"It was a great game," Rams coach Tom Burke said. "We played great defense, and Monica pitched her heart out. We had a runner on second a couple times… we just couldn't get her home. It was a well-played game. The error hurt us on their first run, but it was really excellent to get there… and we were basically one hit from getting to the semifinals."

Burke said the Rams turned their season around with hard work, defense and consistent play down the stretch - and Schult's continued improvement during the season.

"The girls worked very hard," he said. "Our defense turned it around… we came together defensively. And Monica really got stronger as the season went on. And we got timely hitting. Everyone chipped in."