ERIE, Pa. – It took the Cathedral Prep offense two innings to get warmed up, but once it did, the Ramblers were off and running in a 9-5 win over Hickory for the District 10 Class 4A softball championship.
This was the Ramblers third straight D10 title (they won in 2022 as Villa Maria).
Paige Simmerman led the way for the Ramblers with three hits, including a pair of triples, two runs scored, and six RBI.
“I just went up there and told myself I was going to get a good hit and move the runners,” Simmerman said in the Cole Orthodontic Associates player interview.
See the full Cole Orthodontic Associates player interview:
First pitch was delayed by nearly 2 ½ hours from the scheduled start of 2:30 p.m. due to heavy rains that moved through the area. Once the game got underway, it was the Hornets who came out hot to start.
Madeline Myers and Lydia Hallas led off with consecutive singles. Hallas was forced out at second on Hallie Miller’s grounder to short, then Layla McClung hit an RBI single to put Hickory in front, 1-0.
The Hornets doubled their lead in the third when Miller led off with a single and came home on McClung’s RBI double.
“We knew Hickory was going to give us all we could handle,” Cathedral Prep coach Scott Baldi said. “They’re very good, a very well-coached team, and a very good team offensively. We just knew if we could keep it close, we’d be fine.”
See Baldi’s full interview:
The Ramblers found their offensive rhythm in the home half of the inning. Camryn Chimera led off with a single, Mya Kaliszewski reached on a fielder’s choice, and Sophia Primavere was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Simmerman stepped in and roped a bases-clearing triple to the wall to put Cathedral Prep in front, 3-2. Simmerman scored on a wild pitch.
The Ramblers tacked on two more runs in the fourth. After Kaliszewski reached on a fielder’s choice, Primavere hit an RBI triple, then came home on Simmerman’s RBI single.
McClung started the Hickory fifth with a double and scored on Olivia Schneider’s single to cut the lead to 6-3.
The Hornets closed the gap to one in the sixth. Miller and McClung drew consecutive two-out walks and scored when Schneider reached on an error.
Hornets cut the Ramblers lead to 1, 6-5 as we head to B6 pic.twitter.com/Vr2C0blYDA
— YDL Sports Network (@ydlsportsnet) May 27, 2024
Cathedral Prep answered with three of their own in the home half. Kaliszewski and Primavere hit consecutive singles to start the inning, then came in on Simmerman’s second triple of the game. Addison Baldi’s RBI single brought in Simmerman for the final run.
Paige Simmerman with a 2-run triple and Cathedral Prep leads Hickory, 9-5 after 6 pic.twitter.com/DzuiwFjeMh
— YDL Sports Network (@ydlsportsnet) May 27, 2024
“I feel very happy for this group,” Scott Baldi said. “They’ve worked tremendously hard. We lost to very good players last year and they proved to themselves they can do it.”
McClung had three hits, including a double, and reached safely all four plate appearances. She scored twice and drove in a pair. Miller had a hit and scored twice.
Hallas took the loss allowing nine runs, seven earned, on 11 hits.
Primavere had two hits, scored three times, and drove in a run. Kaliszewski had a hit and scored three times, and Baldi had two hits and an RBI.
Madison Simmerman got the win allowing five runs, three earned, on 10 hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Cathedral Prep will play the No. 3 team from the WPIAL (District 7), either Chartiers Valley or Blackhawk (Tuesday, 3 p.m.), in the first round of the PIAA tournament on Monday, June 3 at a time and location to be announced.
