Calvary Chapel Fails to Extend Streak

Playing in its first championship game, Pomona Catholic didn’t look nervous, just hungry against Calvary Chapel, the two-time defending Southern Section Division V champion.

And Pomona Catholic struck quickly, scoring two first-inning runs before holding on behind the three-hit pitching of Katie Swertfager to post a 2-0 victory Saturday in the Division V softball final at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

Swertfager, who will play at Western Kentucky next season, provided all the offense the third-seeded Pacers (19-9) needed by hitting a two-run double with two out in the first.

On the mound, Swertfager struck out eight and unseeded Calvary Chapel (16-8) hit only one ball out of the infield--Anna Jones’ first-inning fly out to right field.

Swertfager gave up three infield singles, quieting an offense that has five .400 hitters and scored 30 runs in a first-round playoff game this season.

“Two runs usually isn’t enough to beat us,” Calvary Chapel Coach Crystal Rosenthal said. “Since we had won twice, I don’t think complacent is the right word, but maybe we were used to it. When you haven’t been there, maybe you have more to prove.”

And Pomona Catholic proved itself, winning its first title by a slim margin.

Pomona Catholic was facing Sarah Hughes, the winning pitcher in Calvary Chapel’s 1-0 championship game victory over Orange Lutheran last season.

But Pomona Catholic was unfazed from the start. In the first, Cecilia Delgado was hit by a pitch and Jessica Gandara singled to center to put two on with two outs.

Swertfager then hit a line drive to the gap in left-center and Calvary Chapel’s Lindsey Stice raced toward the ball. But it grazed the top of her glove and went for a double, allowing Delgado and Gandara to score.

Calvary Chapel’s most serious threat came in the bottom of the sixth when it loaded the bases on two infield singles and a walk.

“That was nerve-racking,” Swertfager said. “I knew I couldn’t let them score.”

With one out, Calvary Chapel’s Kori Przygocki beat out a chopper over the mound.

After Jones popped out, Amanda Hallaway hit another bouncer toward the mound that Swertfager deflected, but it ended up as another infield single. Then Swertfager walked Jackie Beadle to load the bases.

“I knew Katie would come through,” Gandara said. “She does it all the time.”

Said Pomona Catholic Coach Roger Wallace: “The tighter it is, the tougher Katie gets.”

Swertfager escaped the inning by getting Hughes to line out to short.

Calvary Chapel brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh after Lindsey Dyer’s infield single, but the game ended when Stice grounded back to Swertfager for the final out.

“She threw a really good game,” Hallaway said. “You can’t take anything away from her. It’s pretty hard to win when you only get one or two hits.”