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Boyd no-hits SFP, Harms hits in clutch for Molloy

By Five Boro Sports

Janelle Boyd was breezing along on the mound, but couldn’t relax. She and her Archbishop Molloy teammates had been stranding runners and squandering scoring chances as Boyd kept the St. Francis Prep lineup at bay. The Stanners finally scratched out a run in the top of the sixth, lifting some pressure from their ace.

“It felt like safety,” Boyd said. “Because when you are out there and it’s no runs, no runs, no runs and it’s going on forever and you finally get that run and it’s like, ‘Yes!’ It was something to feel comfortable with.”

Not like she wasn’t in control already.

Boyd, who also went three-for-four at the plate, set the Terriers down quietly the next two innings to put the finishing touches on a no-hitter and a 1-0 Molloy victory over St. Francis Prep in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens softball at Cunningham Park Thursday. Boyd allowed just one base runner — Brianna Franchesini reached on an error in the second inning — and struck out seven.

“She really doesn’t have many off days,” senior Emily Harms said. “We have a lot of good fielders behind her. Today we didn’t get a lot of action because she was pitching so well.”

It was Harms (two-for-three) who finally broke the scoreless tie for Molloy, which stranded seven runners over the first five innings. The rally started innocently enough, as Terriers starter Johanna Rice hit Anniela Vaccaro with two outs in the top of the six. Vaccaro later stole second and Harms smacked the next pitch she saw up the middle for an RBI single.

“We’re hitting the whole game,” Harms said. “It just wasn’t falling. It had to eventually.”

Molloy’s best chance prior to that came in the fifth. Julianne Keyes singled to lead off the inning and Julia Lipovac reached on a throwing error. Keyes was thrown out at home on a grounder to shortstop by Boyd, who was later pinch run for. Sheri Florio then lined out hard to third and the pinch runner was doubled off first to end the threat.

“It’s always like that,” St. Francis Prep Coach Ann Marie Rich said. “They get men on. I wish we had more men on, but it seems to happen that way. They get men on, ‘How are we going to get out of it?’ and we do.”

Molloy (2-0) also had a runner doubled off second in the third on a heads-up play by Terriers shortstop Theresa Quinn. Rice scattered 10 hits and struck out three over seven innings.

“Theresa was all over the place,” Rich said. “Her uniform needs to be soaked. She has nice range.”

But Boyd, who needed 76 pitches, was just too much for the Terriers, who beat Molloy in last season’s three-game CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens championship series. Rich said it was the first time many of her players were facing Boyd. SFP hit a few balls hard and the middle of the order was able to battle Boyd at times, especially Carla Pennolino, but no outs were recorded in the outfield and St. Francis Prep (1-1) never really threatened.

“I was just basically doing it by where they were standing,” Boyd said. “You could tell what they were looking for. … So I just watch.”