Izzy Coode scored two runs in leading Mentor to a 2-1 win over visiting Gilmour Academy in the fifth edition of the Bondra Bowl.
Mentor coach Jo Bondra claimed her first victory over her uncle, Gilmour coach Tony Bondra, who is now 4-1 against his niece. Three of those wins occurred while Jo Bondra was coaching at Andrews-Osborne Academy and the other happened last spring when Gilmour defeated Mentor, 8-6.
“He did beat me three times when I was at AOA, so this is my first win,” Jo Bondra said. “It’s always nice to win, but to win a close game like that is great. It gives the team momentum going into a must-win conference game (at Strongsville on Wednesday).”
Gilmour struck first with a run in the top of the first inning.
Clare Peterson drew a leadoff walk and scored on Lauren Riccobelli’s two-out double.
The Cardinals mustered just one baserunner through the first three innings when Olivia Sacks drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the third.
That changed when Coode drew a one-out walk in the fourth and moved to third on Abby Haydu’s double. Coode scored on Sydni Bush’s ground out.
Mentor threatened again in the fifth when Kiley Markowski hit a one-out triple but Gilmour pitcher Megan Mlinaric pitched out of that jam.
Coode drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the sixth and stole second. She then advanced to third on an error and scored the game-winning run on a passed ball.
“Izzy was great today,” Bondra said. “We really stress that you have to be able to draw walks. All good players have a ‘team’ mentality and that means giving up a possible hit to take a walk. Izzy walked twice and scored twice. Her contributions today were huge. She has worked very hard to get back in the lineup and she showed that today.”
Coode had started the season at second base but spent the past several games providing depth for the Cardinals.
She was inserted into the starting lineup in center field and she produced two runs for the Cardinals.
“I was glad I was able to contribute to the victory today,” she said. “Getting pulled from the starting lineup was tough but my family told me, ‘When you get your opportunities make the most of them.’ That’s what I’ve been doing.”
In both of her at-bats, Coode faced a 3-2 count and fouled off four pitches. Once she got on base, she was aggressive and eager to make a play.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help the team,” she said. “It might have been a slow start for me, but I’ve been putting in extra work and it’s paying off.”
Kristin Dems recorded a save by pitching a scoreless seventh inning. She allowed two hits and struck out two, both with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second base.
Maggie Haydu started the game for the Cardinals and pitched 2 1/3 innings. She allowed one run on two hits and struck out four. Addison Siedler threw 3 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings with four strikeouts.
“The pitching staff did a great job today,” Bondra said. “We had a plan to pitch multiple people and I didn’t want to get away from that plan just because my uncle was the other coach. We stuck with the plan. Maggie started off great. Addison came in and shut them down, and Dems was able to come in and close it down. I’m really proud of them.”
Haydu and Markowski recorded Mentor’s only two hits against Mlinaric, who allowed just one earned run on two hits with five strikeouts.
Sammi Fedeli led the Lancers at the plate. She finished the game 2-for-3 with a double. Riccobelli also doubled and Molly McCrone also had a hit.
