Gillis' catch helps Charter softball hold off Padua

Two freshmen – pitcher Payton Czerwinski (left) and shortstop Taylor Gillis – played key roles in Charter of Wilmington’s 6-4 victory over Padua in the DIAA Softball Tournament on Saturday.

MILLTOWN – This is Taylor Gillis’ first year of playing shortstop.

The Charter of Wilmington freshman looked like Ozzie Smith on Saturday, turning a brilliant over-the-shoulder catch into a rally-killing double play as the Force held on for a 6-4 victory over Padua in the first round of the DIAA Softball Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Pandas (15-4) had seven come-from-behind wins this season, and they were in position for another one with runners at first and second with one out in the sixth. Lynsie Grant hit a soft liner into short left field at the Midway Softball Complex, and Gillis sprinted back and somehow caught it. Then she fired to second baseman Julianna Kolek to double off the lead runner.

“We all had a lot of tension on us, and we really needed to get out of that inning,” Gillis said. “… I just saw the ball, and I had to give everything to get it. Kind of like my life was on the line. I needed that.”

Charter (14-5), the 12th seed, secured the upset and earned an unexpected home game in the quarterfinals against 13th-seeded Red Lion Christian at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The Lions knocked off No. 4 Cape Henlopen in the first round Saturday.

Padua took a 1-0 lead in the third when Caitlin Baxter’s single drove in Gabriella Frabizzio. But the Force rapped out five hits — all of their hits for the entire game — to score six runs in the fourth.

“We hit in bunches,” Charter coach Eileen Voltz said.

They sure did. Lindsay Johnson and Mallory McCormick singled, and Katie Kalinowski scored Johnson with another single. Kolek moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, and Zoey Jones was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Then Kate Massih walked to drive in a run, Katie Watson slapped an RBI groundout, Gillis drove in two with a single and Payton Czerwinski plated the sixth run with another single.

The Pandas pulled within 6-4 with three runs in the fifth, as Kierstin Fallers lifted a sacrifice fly and Abby Cunningham ripped a two-run single.

But Gillis made her huge play in the sixth, and the Force withstood Baxter’s one-out double in the seventh. Massih, the catcher, held on to a foul tip for the second out and Jones squeezed the final out in right field.

“It was really nerve-wracking, but I knew no matter what happened my defense would be behind me making the plays,” said Czerwinski, who went the distance in the circle for Charter. “We worked really hard to get up to this, and I think we did really well in the last inning.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.