Aragon softball rolls over Notre Dame-Belmont

Heading into this season, DiNardo (committed to University of Arizona) is slashing .647/.697/1.273, and Grant (committed to UCLA) is slashing .544/.663/1.280. If you’re not familiar with sabermetrics, you’d better ask somebody. Because those numbers are big time legit. So, get out to the softball yard this year to check out Aragon before you miss it.

“Come out, let’s go,” DiNardo said. “We have a lot of talented players on this team. Me and Meg, I think it’s bittersweet to come to our final year. … This is our last time. We’ve got summer, and that’s it.”

All right, enough for the friendly Aragon promo and down to business.

The Lady Dons (1-1) got down to business Wednesday to earn their first win of the season, downing Notre Dame-Belmont 13-3 in a mercy-rule walk-off.

With Grant out of action, DiNardo stepped up to end it, sending everyone home with a bases-loaded double in the bottom of the fifth. The two-run double capped a perfect day for the left-handed No. 3 hitter, who was 3 for 3 with a walk, five RBIs and three runs scored.

“I wasn’t thinking I was even going to get up to bat, actually,” DiNardo said. “I was taping my hand … and they said: ‘Olivia, you’re up.’ And I just ran up there and just went to hit. I try to keep it simple up there. I just see ball, hit ball. I try not to overthink it.”

With Grant due to return in the coming days, Aragon got a big day from her understudy, Janelle Jee. Grant usually bats in the No. 2 spot and plays shortstop. In her absence, Jee did a fine job of filling both roles, as the sophomore was 3 for 4 with a triple, an RBI and three runs scored.

Not too shabby, considering Jee hit predominantly at the bottom of the order last season as a freshman.

“I was the last person to be in the lineup,” Jee said. “This year there’s totally more open spots, and I feel like I’m playing a bigger role this year. So, I’ve got some big shoes to fill, especially because Megan’s not here.”

Slender and unassuming, Jee might not look like a power hitter. But her lightning-quick hands say otherwise. The sophomore got the Dons on the board in the first inning with a booming triple to left field, scoring Brooke Tran with the first run of the game.

Jee gave everyone a scare as she barreled into third base with a head-first slide as NDB third baseman Megan Sarhatt attempted to apply a swipe tag, but the ball rolled under Jee and she slid on top of the ball, causing her to hit the dirt hard and not get back up for several minutes.

Ultimately, Jee collected herself and remained in the game to have a heck of a day.

“I was safe,” Jee said. “That’s what counts.”

Aragon went on to score three runs in the inning, with RBI singles from DiNardo and Brooklyn Blake. In the second, the Dons scored four more runs, fueled by a three-run double from DiNardo and a sacrifice fly by cleanup hitter Rae Damato. All told, the top three batters in the Aragon lineup would make 12 plate appearances and reach base 11 times.

“It was very impressive today,” Aragon head coach Liz Roscoe said. “We’ve been working hard on our hitting all the way down, and we hope to improve our bottom three to be as good as our top.”

Aragon’s pitching took care of the rest. Damato was impressive in three-plus innings of work, as the sophomore right-hander set down the first nine batters she faced.

In the first inning, Aragon’s defense set the tone when NDB leadoff hitter Alexa Cuoto opened the day with a one-hop smash to third base. But DiNardo at the hot corner made a cool backhanded nab and fired a strike across the diamond to retire Cuoto.

Cuoto broke up the perfect game in the fourth inning, leading off the frame with a liner back to the pitcher. It drilled Damato in the hip and tricked away for an infield single by NDB’s third-year leadoff hitter. It also opened the door for a three-run rally for the Tigers (2-1).

“Once I got that line drive to the pitcher, it made everybody believe that we can do this,” Cuoto said. “It just made everybody have higher hopes. We had the bases loaded at one point, so I was very happy with ourselves.”

Malaina Alifano followed with a long double off the top of the center-field fence to score Cuoto. Sarhatt then reached on an outfield error to score Alifano, and Dani DeMera walked to end Damato’s day.

Then the left-handed reliever Tran entered for Aragon and settled things down, thanks in part to a diving catch by Dons first baseman Marlena Marshall on a foul popup in front of the NDB dugout for the first out of the inning. Tran would go on to work two scoreless innings.

The Dons answered back in the bottom of the inning, rallying for four runs. After an infield single by Jee, the sophomore stole second and DiNardo was intentionally walked. Damato then made the Tigers pay by jumping on a 1-0 offering and lashing a two-run triple to right field.

“I went up to her and told her: ‘You’ve got one strike, and that’s it. If you don’t hit it, you’re bunting,’” Roscoe said. “And she waited for her pitch, and she smashed it.”

Blake followed with big bash, launching a two-run home run to left field.

The Dons totaled 13 hits on the afternoon.