The Cornwall Venom 14U softball team rolled to a 19-2 victory over East Chester’s 14U team Saturday afternoon, with guest player Ava Raif making an immediate impact in her debut with the club.

Raif went 3 for 3 with a triple, single and double. She wasted no time making an impression, driving in three runs with a bases-loaded triple in the first inning. She scored on the play, sliding past a tag attempt by the East Chester catcher.

“It felt really good. As a guest player, this is my first time playing with them, so it was really fun to hit triple with the bases loaded,” Raif said. “I really liked the energy that they supported me with, especially with my first time playing with them.”

The Venom got contributions throughout the lineup. Annabelle Mota, Sophia Jarbeau and Miley Martinez each had two hits. Mota drove in two runs, while Jarbeau and Martinez each drove in one. Dahlia Goris added a hit that brought in two runners.

“Everyone stayed aggressive,” Venom coach Jeffrey Martinez said.

Defensively, the Venom limited East Chester’s offense behind an alert outfield and accurate throws from Martinez to first baseman Alyssa Anderson. Fly balls within range were rarely dropped, and ground balls were fielded with urgency throughout the game.

Coach Martinez credited his team’s execution for the defensive performance, saying the Venom displayed what they work on in practice, including “protecting home, hitting our cuts” and outfield positioning.

Cornwall extended its lead in the second inning on a Jarbeau triple that drove in a run and put her in scoring position; she later crossed the plate to make it 6-0. Goris followed with a triple of her own, driving in another run.

“It just felt like I was so supported by my team’s energy,” Jarbeau said. “Their energy supports me and gives me the confidence to do the things I do in this kind of game.”

“Hitting triples is not something that really has to do with me that much,” she added. “It’s the confidence my team provides for me and just everything that they do for me.”

Raif made a running catch in the outfield in the third inning, tracking down a fly ball near the fence despite sun glare. East Chester avoided the shutout that inning, scoring its only two runs of the game. Martinez added a double that nearly left the ballpark and later stole third base.

The Venom closed out the game in the fourth inning, scoring six more runs while holding East Chester scoreless to end the contest 19-2 by mercy rule.

“We’ve been in a mini slump, so to break out of it early is always a positive,” Venom coach Duke Jachens said.
Jarbeau pointed to the team’s growth since the start of the season.

“We didn’t really know each other much when we started and were not as good as we are now, but we all pushed ourselves and worked hard every week to get better,” she said. “Our energy is really what helps us win games, because if our energy is low, we always lose. But if we have our energy up, we’re confident and if we support each other, we’ll win.”