Mishinski, St. Hubert capture softball crown

St. Hubert senior Jessica Mishinski wears a white, dirt-smudged, Adidas headband under her catcher's helmet, with eye black on both of her cheeks. To practice, she wears shirts with the sleeves cut off.

Coach Dave Schafer, who doubles as Mishinski's psychology teacher, diagnosed her as an "oddball." Pitcher Erica Raggazone called her a "rebel."

So naturally, when Tuesday's Catholic League softball championship came down to a situation that usually called for a walk - second and third, two outs, tie game in the bottom of the eighth inning - Mishinski was ready to swing away.

On a 1-1 pitch, she stroked a single to right field that scored junior Taylor Mack and clinched St. Hubert's fourth PCL title in six years, 2-1 over Conwell-Egan at Arcadia.

When Mack crossed the plate, junior Jessica Grzywna blasted through the dugout fence, trailed by a stream of bubbling players. Some huddled around Mack near home plate, while others hugged Schafer, who had run in from the third-base coaching box.

The pandemonium was familiar to Mishinski. In the 2010 PCL final, she beat out an infield single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to give the Bambies a 1-0 win over Lansdale Catholic.

"I did this before," Mishinski said she thought as she stepped to the plate. "So what makes me think I can't do it again?"

It was just the positive thinking that Schafer, in his seventh year as St. Hubert softball coach and 19th as psychology teacher, preached in the days leading to the game.

A year ago, the team sat in the same outfield after a championship game, staring at the Blankley Stadium scoreboard. St. Hubert had lost to Lansdale Catholic, 3-1, and Schafer and his players made a vow.

"We've got to get back here," he said that day, "and that score's got to be reversed."

Rain pushed this year's title game from Friday to Tuesday, but the Bambies (17-3) kept practicing, on Wednesday and Thursday, and then Sunday and Monday.

"Two days," Schafer repeated at practice Sunday, counting down to the title game.

Monday, the refrain became "one day." When the team filed into the dugout before Tuesday's 4 p.m. first pitch, Schafer slapped hands and said one word to each player: "Today."

Yet even after the Bambies scored a first-inning run and Raggazone struck out five of the first nine batters she faced, the outcome remained in doubt. Pitcher and cleanup hitter Gina Massaro, who worked around six hits and four walks on the mound, tied the game for the Eagles (16-7) with a fourth-inning single.

When Mishinski came up in the eighth, however, Raggazone said players on the bench began thinking back to 2010. "We believed in her," she said.

And after Mishinski delivered, they returned to the outfield once again, this time in a joyous sprint, chanting "Jess, Jess, Jess."

"Today was the day," Schafer said.

Conwell-Egan   00010000 - 141

St. Hubert   10000001 - 260

WP: Erica Raggazone. LP: Gina Massaro.