THE SPSV softball team had to settle for second place after getting shut out by Marin Catholic at last Saturday’s North Coast Section Division IV championship game in Novato.

Hitting home runs and lighting up the scoreboard had practically become a routine for the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High softball team throughout the regular season and playoffs. But during last Saturday night’s North Coast Section Division IV championship game in Novato, the Lady Bruins came up empty.

Marin Catholic pitcher Carly Slack held SPSV to only four hits and shut out the Lady Bruins, 3-0, as the Lady Wildcats captured the Division IV championship at San Marin High School. It was the first time SPSV had been shut out all season and it couldn’t have happened in a more crucial moment.

“We just weren’t hitting the ball,” said SPSV senior pitcher Cecily Kaluza, who struck out in each of her two at-bats. “I don’t know what happened.”

“We saw a good pitcher,” senior Jaydee Boursaw said of Slack. “She had a lot of movement on her pitches and we have to give her credit. She really had us.”

“She’s a good pitcher,” added SPSV manager Rich Gigliotti. “I didn’t think we’d get shut out. We didn’t get shut out all season and for (Slack) to do that to us, she’s good. That’s all you can say.”

Top-seeded Marin Catholic (22-4) gave Slack all the run support she would need with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Destiny Buckhanan crushed a two-out triple that scored Julia Rabbitt with the first run, and teammate Izzy Incaviglia followed with a single to bring home Buckhanan.

It was still 2-0 when Marin Catholic loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of the fourth. Kaluza, however, buckled down and got out of the jam without allowing a run, giving No. 3 seed SPSV some hope.

“I told the players after we got out of that jam that we were going to win the game right here,” Gigliotti said. “Marin Catholic wasn’t going to score any more and we were going to come back and score some runs. It just didn’t happen.”

The Lady Bruins (19-9) went down in order in the top of the fifth and Marin Catholic added to its lead in the bottom of the inning when Rabbitt doubled and Buckhanan drove her home with a two-out single. Buckhanan went 3-for-3 on the night, scored a run and drove in two.

“She hit the ball hard,” Gigliotti said of Buckhanan. “She’s a good player and she came through when they needed her. She was the difference in the game.”

Boursaw’s double leading off the top of the seventh accounted for SPSV’s only base runner over the final three innings as Slack finished with a four-hit shutout, striking out seven along the way. Neenah Pangilinan, Olivia Soley and Cydney Hampton accounted for SPSV’s other three hits – all singles.

“We’ve always found a way to come back in games like this and tonight we just didn’t do it,” Boursaw said.

“It hurts, but I couldn’t be more proud of the team,” Kaluza added.

It was likely the final game as SPSV manager for Gigliotti, who has spent 16 years with the Lady Bruins.

“We had a good year and it was a good run,” Gigliotti said. “We came so close and were right there. I’m disappointed we lost but I’m not disappointed in the team at all. We played well and struck out only seven times against the best pitcher in the Section. We played a good game; we just couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it. We were good. They (Marin Catholic) were just better.”

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