Lydia Berent, Mia Moyano power Cardinal Gibbons softball past Westminster Academy

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – Freshmen Lydia Berent and Mia Moyano hit a pair of 2-run home runs in the bottom of the third inning to lead Cardinal Gibbons past Westminster Academy, 5-3, in softball on Wednesday. Berent also pitched six shutout innings after allowing three runs (one earned) in the first to pick up the victory.

Westminster Academy took little time to get on the board with a first inning leadoff home run by Dianna Montidoro. The sophomore laced a line drive off Berent over the center field fence to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. Westminster Academy would later add a two-run single to take a 3-0 advantage after half a frame.

With a lead, the Lions’ Ava Salvino worked around a leadoff walk and, later, a double by Berent before striking out two batters to get out of the bottom of the first inning. The sophomore also struck out two batters in the second inning.

In the third, a leadoff walk by sophomore Sophia Berg set up Berent’s home run over the right center-field fence. A single by junior Angela Dooley set up Moyano’s home run over the left-field fence. Salvino’s rough inning slanted an otherwise good performance. The sophomore struck out eight batters over six innings while allowing one other run.

“Incredibly proud, I think this was probably their best game,” said Cardinal Gibbons head coach Carlos Farias. They bared down and they got after it. They are getting a bit more serious about how competitive they need to be. The two home runs were amazing. Starting out the game 3-0 was a little rough for me. I was very frustrated with that. But we hit our way past it. A big RBI by Angela Dooley to give us a little cushion of two runs to make it 5-3. It was just a great game on defense and offense. There is more to come.”

After the first, Berent was virtually unhittable. She concluded her day with a final line of seven innings, four hits, three runs (one earned), one walk and 11 strikeouts. Berent also finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and her team-best eighth home run of the season. She also leads the Chiefs in batting average (.622), runs (24), hits (23), and RBI’s (22).

Moyano’s home run was her second the season. She also hit a home run in her last game against Calvary Christian Academy. Moyano now holds a .348 batting average with six RBI’s and two home runs. Dooley finished 2-for-3 at the plate with her RBI single in the fifth inning. She is now batting .421 with 18 RBI’s.

“I really think the first inning we struggled, and it find of felt like the old us,” said Berent. “But this week we really worked on our defense, especially our bunt defense. We knew they were going to come out and play a lot of small ball. I really think we worked this week and it has really paid off. I knew once we were down 3-0, we were going to come back and it showed in our offense. Two home runs and a bunch of hits.”

The win moves the Chiefs to 9-3 while the Lions fall to 9-4.