Softball | 4/16/2025 9:11:00 AM

The following is an excerpt from The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cathedral Catholic rallies, thumps Point Loma in softball."

With nine CIF San Diego Section championships, Cathedral Catholic boasts one of the county's elite softball programs.

This year, under a new head coach, 25-year-old Jennifer Marnia, Cathedral wants to hang a 10th banner to its crowded gymnasium walls. Tuesday afternoon at Correia Middle School, the Dons demonstrated how formidable they can be.

After spotting Point Loma a 3-0 lead after two innings, No. 5 Cathedral came back to ruthlessly pound the softball, dealing the No. 6 Pointers a 13-4 loss in the Western League opener for both teams.

With the calendar heading toward May's playoffs, Cathedral (12-6, 1-0) is playing some of its best softball. The win was Cathedral's sixth straight against local schools.

"The one thing we preach to the girls is that games in February and March are leading up to the games in April and May," said Marnia. "What happens the first couple of months doesn't matter. Everything we play for is in April and May."

Marnia rolled the dice Tuesday, starting junior Kylie Such on the mound. According to MaxPreps.com, Such came in having pitched just 6 2/3 innings. She lasted 1 2/3 innings against the Pointers, allowing three runs on six hits.

With Point Loma rallying, Marnia turned to "Mimi" Melissa Botticelli. A junior, Botticelli gave up an RBI single to the first hitter she faced, then held Point Loma in check. Botticelli ended up working 4 1/3 innings and earned the win, allowing just one run on six hits.

Asked to summarize Botticelli's performance, Marnia said: "Fantastic. Her changeup was nasty. She's been taking the brunt of our innings (a team-leading 65 2/3.) Sometimes you need a pitcher to say, 'Give me the ball. I'm doing the job.' And that's what she did."

Cathedral put together two big innings, scoring five runs in the fifth to take an 8-4 lead. The Dons added another five runs in the seventh.

The hitting stars were many for Cathedral. Kayla Walton and "Ellie" Elizabeth Davis each crushed two-run homers in the seventh. No. 9 hitter Tyler Price went 2-for-3, scored three runs and knocked in two. Leadoff hitter Anna Janis, a freshman, struck out her first two times up. Then she reached her last three times, knocking in three runs.