SOFTBALL
By: Nick Schaefer
For the Lawrence High School softball team, the pitcher might have been different, but the results were almost identical.
After defeating Nottingham on Friday, behind a sterling pitching performance from Emily Panasowich, the Cardinals sent sophomore Kelly Hanlon to the hill in the quarterfinals of the Mercer County Tournament.
"It was a tough decision to make, but I felt that Nottingham would have had better swings at Emily seeing her on consecutive days," said head coach Keith Fithen. "I wanted to change speeds and go with a different pitcher. I figured it would make them adjust and possibly put some added pressure on them."
Hanlon did not disappoint. She painted the corners, changed speeds, to completely dumbfound the Nottingham batters, as she tossed a two-hit shutout to lead the Cardinal’s to a 1-0 victory.
In fact, she was near perfect. It was not until a leadoff single in the fifth inning that she allowed her first base runner of the game.
"She pitched solid from the get-go," Fithen said. "She looked poised and confident the entire game. She has done well in center field all season and we believed she would do well pitching. She sometimes gets nervous, but we have been working with her."
Although Lawrence was shutting down the Nottingham attack, the Cardinals could not generate much offense. Nottingham’s Christina Duncan was matching Hanlon inning to inning.
It was not until the seventh inning that the Cardinals were able to get on the board and score the game’s lone run.
Tiffany Robert led off the inning with a sharply hit single to left field, and moved to second on a bunt single by Amy Frankel. After the bases were loaded, with two outs, Liz Casale grounded into a fielder’s choice, but a misplay by Nottingham in the field led to an errant throw which produced the game’s only run, when Frankel scored.
"It was a crazy inning to say the least," said Fithen. "There was a little of everything in it. It was a tough game and it came down to the wire. We were fortunate enough to score and win the game."
The Cardinals will move on to the semi-finals and play Notre Dame today (Thursday). The winner will earn a spot in the championship game.