Nazareth coach ‘throws out book,’ calls on 3 pitchers, scores league title

By John Knebels

Yes, high school athletics are supposed to be about the teenagers and not the adults.

But sometimes a coach tries a strategy that defies the odds so impressively that it’s impossible not to offer a loud shout out.

Look no further than Nazareth Academy softball coach Bob Keating’s moment of enlightenment — carried over from the regular season to a league championship game.

In the Catholic Academy League championship against St. Basil’s at Arcadia University, Keating grabbed the mythical book of coaching protocol and, as he had done earlier in the regular season against the then-favored Panthers, tossed it in the nearest trash can.

Figuring that runs would be at a premium since the Pandas were facing Basil’s ace and St. Joseph’s University-bound Erin Gallagher, Keating did everything humanly possible to prevent Basil’s from scoring.

One starting pitcher? Nope. Two pitchers? Not quite.

Instead, Keating utilized three different pitchers to prevent St. Basil’s from crossing the plate and it almost worked to perfection.

But while St. Basil’s did manage to score a run against the trio of Amanda Fernandez, Erica Cipollini and Emily Grzywna, Nazareth reached down and somehow found a way to score two and emerge with a 2-1 championship victory.

In their 10th championship visit under the 12-year tutelage of Keating, the title was Nazareth’s second straight and sixth under the coach.

This one was arguably his most special, but he’ll never tell.

“It came down to not wanting any of their hitters to face the same pitcher,” Keating said. “I have confidence in all of our pitchers to throw a great game. Why not use all three?”

Early on, it appeared that the plan might backfire. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to three walks. But from that point on, the Pandas only surrendered one hit.

Undaunted by their early deficit, the Pandas tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when lightning-quick senior Giannina Cipollini walked, stole both second and third base, and scored on a well-placed groundout by her sister Erica, a sophomore.

Gallagher was her typically dominant self until the bottom of the fourth. Nazareth Academy freshman catcher Alicia Keough broke a no-hit bid with a lead-off single. After Keough was replaced by courtesy runner Alex Sawicki, Erica Cipollini bunted her to second base. Fernandez then lifted a single that scored Sawicki.

So in addition to handling St. Basil’s bats, the composite pitching trio contributed big-time performances on offense.

“We’ve developed a nice rivalry with them,” said the senior Cipollini. “When we beat them during the regular season (3-0 on April 29 after having lost 5-0 on April 3), it was great. But when you win a championship game, there’s nothing like it.”

As of press time, the two teams were still alive in the state tournament and may very well play each other for a fourth time.

Nazareth knows what to expect — a healthy dose of Erin Gallagher.

St. Basil’s undoubtedly knows what to expect, too.

John Knebels can be reached at jknebs@aol.com.