BY GENE NARDI
The Wellington High School girls softball team hosted District 9-8A rival Palm Beach Gardens High School on Wednesday, March 12 and edged the Lady Gators 2-1 in eight innings.
Gardens’ only two losses of the season have come against Wellington in what is arguably the toughest district in the state.
The Lady Wolverines took advantage of a Palm Beach Gardens error in the bottom of the eighth inning for the win.
No. 8 Wellington (9-2, 5-1) jumped to a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, after three innings of both teams battling on defense. The No. 2 Lady Gators would bite back and add a run in the sixth inning to tie the score 1-1.
Palm Beach Gardens (9-2, 4-2) managed to get runners on base in the seventh and eighth innings, but was unable to drive them in, with a stingy Wellington defense blocking the way.
The Wellington squad also struggled against the Lady Gators defense, and with the bases loaded at the bottom of the seventh inning, came up empty.
Wellington later capitalized on a Palm Beach Gardens error, when Cynthia Whitty launched a ground ball that popped off the glove of Lady Gators shortstop Tiffany Lower. The ball traveled into the outfield, giving Wellington’s Genovieve Mangini a chance to seize the moment, scoring the winning run to lift Wellington over Palm Beach Gardens 2-1.
The Lady Wolverines are back in action Tuesday, March 25, when they travel to Glades Central High School for a 5 p.m. game.
ABOVE: Wolverine catcher Toni Pancione gets ready to make a play at the plate.
