Mangialardi, Montini manage to top St. Francis

Lara Mangialardi, like the rest of her pitching peers, is still adjusting to the brave new world of the 43-foot mound distance.

She showed her mettle Monday.

The Montini senior allowed just an unearned run after a 3-run St. Francis first inning, and Mangialardi's Broncos rallied for a 6-4 win in Lombard.

"The first team that is going to adjust, to be able to hit the corners and throw off-speed is going to be very successful," Montini coach Richie Costante said. "Lara is very good at making adjustments. She always wants to know what pitches they hit, and we track all that."

Mangialardi (3-2) twice wiggled out of bases-loaded jams, the second time in the seventh protecting a 2-run lead. Bri Pasquale and Blaine Carragher singled for St. Francis, and Mangialardi nicked Emily Parpinski on the helmet to load the bases with one out.

Mangialardi got the next batter on a comebacker, throwing home for the second out, then induced a ground ball to shortstop Tori Shipbaugh to end it.

"I just needed to keep the ball low," Mangialardi said, "and be ready to make the play if they hit the ball on the ground. You just have to keep your focus."

"We left too many runners on base," said St. Francis coach Ralph Remus, whose team stranded 10. "We had chances like the last inning. We should be able to get something across, but you have to give the pitcher credit. We'll get 'em next time."

In a matchup between last year's top two conference teams, St. Francis jumped ahead early. Paige Davis drew a leadoff walk in the first, Pasquale was hit by a pitch and Laura Behnke reached on an error to score a run. Carragher then shot a two-out, two-run double down the third base line to make it 3-0.

Montini, the only team to beat St. Francis in-league last year, came back with 2 runs in the bottom half. Mangialardi's homer to straight-center made it 3-2.

St. Francis (5-4, 0-1 Suburban Christian) scored a run in the fourth aided by a pair of Montini errors, the aggressive Broncos had 2 runners cut down on the bases in the third and left the bases juiced in the fourth.

But Shipbaugh tied it with a 2-run homer to center an out into the fifth. An out later Jessica Stahelin coaxed a walk, her third of the game.

"Walks always come back to haunt you," Remus said.

Montini (3-2, 1-0) indeed made the free pass hurt. Nicole Piscopo singled and Alex Dewey reached on an error. Dana Rutkowski, who had made 3 errors at first base earlier in the game, dropped a single into short left for the go-ahead run and 5-4 score.

Shipbaugh added an RBI double in the sixth.

"She was hanging her head a little bit in the dugout," Costante said of Rutkowski, "and I called timeout and told her before that last at bat 'a base hit right here wipes away all those errors.' And she came through."