Preachers Prevail!!

A guest post by Br. Thomas More Garrett, O.P., the athletic director for our Student Brothers in Washington.

Late inning rally propels Dominicans to a 5-2 victory

While the nation enjoyed a day of rest on Monday, the Province of St. Joseph Studentate softball team took the field to face the Marians of the Immaculate Conception in the annual Labor Day Softball Classic.  The large crowd of spectators on hand for the matchup witnessed one of the toughest defensive struggles between the two teams in recent memory.  In the end, the Dominicans came out on top and extended their winning streak in the series to four. The contest began with Fr. Ken Letoile, Prior of the Dominican House of Studies, tossing the ceremonial first pitch [see photo above].  Br. Bonaventure Chapman then took the mound for the Friars and promptly retired the first three Marian batters.  The Marians responded in kind in the bottom of the inning with Bros. Joseph Anthony Kress, Philip Neri Reese and Gregory Pine each denied hits on account of strong MIC play in the field.  Both teams were scoreless after the first inning of play.

The game turned south for the Dominicans in the second.  A four-hit inning by the MICs and two Friar errors gave the Marians a two-run lead.  The Dominicans responded with three hits (one each by Bros. Timothy Danaher, Dominic Mary Verner and Alan Piper), and managed to pull within one when Br. Alan drove in Br. Timothy in the bottom of the inning.  The score stood at 2-1 in favor of the Marians after two. After a hitless third for both squads, the Marians stranded three in the fourth.  Br. Leo Checkai made a diving catch in right-center field with bases loaded to end the top of the fourth.  The Friars squeezed in a run in the bottom of the fourth when Br. Joachim Kenney led off the Friar’s side of the inning with a single and then later scored when Br. Humbert Kilanowski hit into a fielder’s choice.  The Marians and Dominicans were deadlocked at two runs apiece at the conclusion of four innings of play. After Br. Joachim’s score in the bottom of the fourth, home plate didn’t see the sole of another base runner’s shoe until the seventh.  The Marians managed just three more hits for the remainder of the game, stranding two runners in the fifth and one in the seventh.  The Dominican batters registered only five more hits, but unfortunately for the MICs four of those hits came in the decisive seventh inning. The bottom of the seventh began with each of the first three Dominican batters (Bros. Timothy, Dominic Mary and Alan) reaching base on singles.  Br. Leo’s sacrifice fly to deep left field allowed Br. Timothy to score his second run of the game and gave the Friars their first lead of the contest.  Br. Peter Martyr drove in two insurance runs before the MICs managed to close the inning. The Friars’ three-run seventh inning secured the victory.  Br. Bonaventure capped a dominating performance on the mound by tossing a goose egg in the eighth before being relieved by Br. John Sica in the ninth.  Br. John retired the first three Marian batters in the top of the final inning to earn the save. The story of the game for the Friars is the play of two Maryland natives, fellow Terps, and novitiate classmates.  Bros. Leo and Peter Martyr entered religious life together in 2007 and five years later shared MVP honors on the softball diamond.  Br. Leo’s MVP award is his second in as many years. For the second consecutive year, the Friars needed a late inning rally to emerge victorious.  Given the competitiveness of the recent games between these two teams, neither can take a win over the other for granted any longer. View a slideshow of pictures from the game below.