Mater Dei Shuts Out Rosary

Rosary knew nothing about Mater Dei designated hitter Casie Phillips, but after Phillips’ first two at-bats Tuesday, the Royals knew more than they wanted.

Phillips’ double to left field scored Kristin Jones from second base as second-ranked Mater Dei beat No. 4 Rosary, 1-0, in Serra League softball at Lyons Field.

Mater Dei avenged its only loss, an eight-inning, 1-0 setback in April that ended a 21-game winning streak.

“We didn’t know anything about her,” Rosary Coach Tom Tice said of Phillips, who also had a first-inning single while batting second in the order. “We had never seen her before.”

According to Monarch Coach Ed Ulloa, Phillips dislocated two vertebrae, which is why she had not played since the Tournament of Champions more than a month ago.

Mater Dei (25-1) improved to 3-1 in the Serra League. Rosary (18-7) is 1-2 and in third place.

Phillips’ big hit beat Rosary left-hander Mallory Anderson (13-5), who gave up seven hits, three in the decisive third inning, and struck out five.

“It was a curveball,” Anderson said of Phillips’ double. “Sometimes you have to give the hitters credit; the pitch was where it was supposed to be.”

Phillips’ line drive came after Jones singled to right field, a sacrifice and a strikeout. Christina Clark followed with the first of her two hits, but Jessica Young’s pop-up ended the inning.

Still, it was all the offense needed by Washington-bound Tia Bollinger (24-1), who gave up only one hit, a ground ball through the right side in the fourth inning. She faced only two batters over the minimum.

In their April 10 meeting, Bollinger pitched a two-hitter and struck out 19. Rosary scored the only run of the season against Bollinger on two hit batters, a wild pitch and a passed ball.

But this time, there were no letdowns when Rosary threatened. Sheila McCorkle’s diving save of Natalie Golda’s drive down the third-base line came with a runner at first and threw out Golda at first base to end the inning.

“It was an awesome play,” said Bollinger, who struck out seven. “If it would have gotten past [McCorkle] it would have changed the momentum of the game.”

In another Serra League game:

Santa Margarita 1, Lakewood St. Joseph 0 (8)--Erin Dobrowolski singled home the winning run with one out for the Eagles (16-10, 3-1). Nicole Bartholomew (7-8) struck out 11 and gave up two hits.