On Thursday afternoon, Paly softball dropped a close game to Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory from San Francisco, 4-3.

“I feel like we’re so much better than we played,” Emma Noroian (’14) said. “We’re struggling with hitting. We all hit really well in practice, but then transferring that to the game, it’s not working out for us.”

Sacred Heart started off strong after a player stole second, and the next batter hit a base hit and the other player ran home, putting Sacred Heart ahead 1-0. With the bases quickly loaded, two outs and a full count, pitcher Julia Saul (’14) walked the player up to bat and Sacred Heart put another run on the board, making the score 2-0. The Vikings then got the third out and went up to bat.

Hannah Bundy (’14) hit a triple, and Casey Glassford (’15) went up to bat. After a bad pitch went wide of the catcher, Bundy capitalized on the error and ran home to give the Vikings their first run of the game.

The second and third innings passed without either team scoring.

In the fourth inning, the first Sacred Heart player got a base hit. The next batter bunted the ball, but a bad throw to Noroian at first base allowed for the player to make it to second. Then on a hit to center field, Sacred Heart scored again. The next batter hit a single, and another player ran home, putting the score at 4-1. Saul struck out the next batter, but the Vikings could not make anything of their time at bat.

In the fifth inning neither team got on base.

As the sixth inning began, another error was made in a throw to first base, and a Sacred Heart player made it to first. However, the Vikings did not let Sacred Heart increase its lead.

“If we cut down on the errors, we’ll be fine,” Maddie Martinson (’16) said.

Up first to bat in the bottom of the sixth, Mackenzie Glassford (’17) got a base hit, and right after her, so did Bundy. Saul hit an RBI to send M. Glassford home and put Bundy at third. Martinson hit an RBI for Bundy to score, and the Vikings were only down 4-3.

Now in the last inning, Sacred Heart had a girl on first and one out. A ball was hit straight to Noroian, who caught it, and then turned to tag the Sacred Heart player returning to first, thus ending the inning.

In their last time at bat, the Vikings did not manage to get on base, and the score was left at 4-3.

“We’re all going to practice a lot this weekend,” Noroian said. “We’re going to get a better mindset and focus more.”