By Troy Mauriello
On an eventful Senior Day for Mary Louis, it was a dominant start and some clutch hitting from a junior that helped the Hilltoppers make history.
Ace Elizabeth Hanover tossed a complete game shutout and added an RBI double to push Mary Louis past Fontbonne Hall 4-0 May 12 at Cunningham Park, giving the Hilltoppers their first outright Brooklyn/Queens regular-season softball championship in program history.
“It feels so good because it hasn’t happened to Mary Louis in so many years,” Hanover said. “With a great team, it’s just so great.”
Despite Hanover’s dominance on the mound, TMLA’s offense struggled to put much together against Fontbonne starter Bianca Marletta. The senior struck out 10 and allowed just five hits as she kept the Hilltoppers off balance for nearly the entire game.
However, TMLA (5-3) was able to break through against Marletta in the third with a two-out rally that provided all of its offense for the game.
With a runner on first and two outs, Hanover stepped up to the plate with a chance to help her own cause, and she did just that with a clutch RBI double to the gap in right centerfield.
After third baseman Kelsey Trudden walked to give TMLA runners on first and second with two out, her fellow senior Taylor Milata kept the train rolling with a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0.
“I was nervous because today was our Senior Day and I felt like I needed to step up for my team,” Milata said.
Centerfielder Sam Merino added a single of her own moments later to complete the four-run inning and give Hanover a comfortable lead that she had no trouble hanging on to.
Fontbonne (3-5) threatened with runners on second and third with two outs in the top of the fourth. However, Hanover got right fielder Nicole Fallon to line out softly to second base to end the inning. From that point, she allowed just two more hits over the final three innings.
Hanover struck out just two batters in seven innings, but she pitched to contact and allowed her stellar defense to back her up.
Merino, left fielder Caitlin Hillebrand and right fielder Camryn Roy combined to play a lockdown defensive outfield. A spectacular running catch by Merino in the top of the fifth saved a run and preserved Hanover’s shutout.
“When we play the way we did today, from the first play that was over the left fielder’s head that she ran down, to the second baseman running down pop ups, to the center fielder running down everything…put the ball in play, we’ll catch it,” TMLA coach Rob Elkins said.
Aside from being a nice sendoff for the three TMLA seniors, Hillebrand, Milata and Trudden, the win also gave the Hilltoppers their first outright Brooklyn/Queens division title in program history and was their first division crown since 2005, when they played in a Queens-only division.
But Elkins made it clear after the win that he had no intention of being content with his team’s division championship. The coach preached to his players that this was only “step one” of their journey this season.
“[The next step is] winning the conference in the playoffs, that gets us to the states, and then, in a perfect world, winning the state championship,” Elkins said.
And it seems as though the TMLA players share that confidence as well.
“I think we can [take the next step] if we all come and we’re ready to play,” Hannover said. “I think we can definitely take it.”
