The Jesuit softball team faced off against the Southridge Skyhawks at Jesuit this past Monday. It was a nail-biter game going into the last inning but ended with the Skyhawks winning 3-2.

Sader Aubrey Rhodes had a big double in the second inning which she followed up by a tactical steal to get onto third. Despite the effort, the inning ended with her on base leaving the score 0-0. The first three innings stayed scoreless despite both the Saders and the Skyhawks getting runners in scoring positions. A big part of keeping the Skyhawks scoreless was the pitching and catching of Rhodes and Mary Cunnigham as they strategically navigated the strike zone sending multiple batters back to the dugout.

The scoring drought ended in the 4th inning when Rhodes hit another double before being hit home by Riley Smith who had 2 singles for the day. The Skyhawks drought ended in the 5th inning with Lauren Schiele hitting an in-park home run where multiple errors occurred within the Jesuit defense.

In the following inning, junior Sam Blachly smacked one out of the field for a solo home run which got the Crusaders a lead of one. With no one on base, Cunningham stepped up to the plate and smacked a pitch out to right field where she was able to get to third base giving the Saders a much-needed triple.

However, with Cunningham in a scoring position, the Saders struck out and unfortunately left her in a scoring position.

At the bottom of the inning, the Skyhawks got a desperate single right before hitting another home run this time sending it past the back fence giving the Skyhawks the lead of 3-2.

The final inning came down to the wire but the Saders were unable to get a runner home and the game ended with the Skyhawks edging through with a 3-2 win.

Despite the loss, junior Berkleigh Tuck was felt good about the game.

“We always go down with a fight,” she said, adding that she and the team “plan to keep working… with the ultimate goal of getting far in playoffs.”

Cunningham felt the improvement will pay off.

“We have a team that can only get better,” she said. “[This] should set us up for success in the playoffs.”