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The Bishop Brady girls' softball team may have had comfortable wins in its two regular-season matchups with Pembroke, but yesterday's 4-3 victory in the first round of the Class I tournament was anything but.
After falling to the Green Giants, 6-2 and 15-3, in the final weeks of May, the 14th-seeded Spartans knew exactly what to expect. Pembroke rallied for three runs in the top of the third inning after falling behind 2-0 in the second, giving Coach Deb Smith's squad the confidence it needed for an upset.
Unfortunately for Pembroke (9-10), No. 3 Bishop Brady (16-2) didn't give in, notching two more runs while holding the Spartans scoreless through the final four frames to seal a semifinal showdown with No. 6 Kennett.
"Pembroke knew everything we were going to throw at them," Bishop Brady Coach Shawn Brechtel said. "They'd seen both of our pitchers, so they came into this with a lot of confidence. Nobody expected them to win, which I'm sure was motivational. They never quit."
Senior Jill Nemcovich proved the Giants' saving grace, relieving starter Whitney Bernier (three innings, two earned runs, six hits, walk, three strikeouts) to pick up the win in relief. Nemcovich (1-for-4, RBI) was also pivotal at the plate, driving in the tying run with a hard-hit single in the fourth inning before crossing the plate in the seventh for the winning score.
"This was definitely a whole team effort," Nemcovich said. "We fell behind early but there was never a doubt in this team. I think we picked up some major momentum today, and it will carry over."
Nemcovich (four innings, no runs, no hits, eight strikeouts) instilled plenty of confidence in her teammates after striking out the side in the top of the seventh inning before a walk in the bottom of the frame gave Brady the base runner it had been longing for.
Jenn Parsons popped out to the second baseman to put the Spartans two outs away from forcing extra innings, but the Giants were patient. Leslie Stratton (1-for-4) battled back from a 2-1 count with a single up the middle, and when the throw was late trying to nail Nemcovich at third, Stratton moved up, putting runners on second and third. Keelin Dougherty was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Micheala Carbonneau.
Carbonneau (1-for-4, RBI) watched the count go full before sending a line drive over the head of Marissa Letendre at shortstop to plate Nemcovich for the walk-off win.
"I'm very proud of the way our girls played today, no matter how it ended," Smith said. "We took it to a notch today that we'd been looking to play at all season. We had our chances, but Brady deserves a lot of credit. They had a few inches to work with and seemed to put the ball in those spots."
Pembroke had a chance to go up early but couldn't convert, stranding the bases loaded in the first inning after back-to back-strikeouts from Bernier. The Spartans finally got their way in the third, crossing the plate three times with two outs to go up 3-2. Jenni Poulin (3-for-4) sparked the rally with a single up the middle, before a Katie Scofield (1-for-4) single and a Kaitlyn Moulton (1-for-4, two RBI, run) triple evened the score at 2-2. Moulton then scored on a passed ball on the next pitch to give Pembroke the lead.
"It was still early at that point so we weren't exactly panicking," Brecthel said. "Pembroke is a very talented and well-coached team, but we knew our offense would eventually come around."
Carley Ireland (2-for-4, RBI) got the scoring started for Brady with a two-out home run over the head of Devin Cleary (1-for-4) in center in the second inning. The Giants added one more moments later, after a Bridget Butterworth (1-for-4, RBI) double drove in Kelsea Marchand, who had reached on a walk.
Danielle McQueen suffered the loss for Pembroke, allowing two earned runs on six hits and five walks while striking out six.
"Danielle was in a tough position for a freshman who'd never pitched in the postseason," Smith said. "This game was a lot different from our first two matches, which says a lot about our girls. Today was all about heart and I think our girls showed that." | 
