This softball notebook highlights the SOL conference races as well as several teams that are on the rise.
By Mary Jane Souder
The 2013 softball season has been, to say the least, an interesting one.
With three games remaining in the regular season, four teams are in a logjam atop the Continental Conference standings with identical 8-3 records.
All four - Hatboro-Horsham, Central Bucks East, Pennridge and Central Bucks South – are a lock to make the district playoffs with defending district champion North Penn, the conference’s fifth place team, also likely to earn a playoff berth. A four-way tie is all but impossible since Central Bucks East still has to face both Central Bucks South and Pennridge. A three-way tie, however, is a possibility.
In the American Conference, Upper Merion – with its roster full of underclassmen – has a two-game lead in the standings with just three games remaining on its schedule. The Vikings are in a position to win their first ever conference crown, and they can clinch sole possession on Tuesday night when they face second place Wissahickon under the lights at Walker Park in King of Prussia in a 7 p.m. contest.
The only conference that has been predictable is the National Conference where defending co-champions Pennsbury and Neshaminy are once again in a dogfight for the top spot. The Redskins hold a one game lead over the Falcons after winning the initial meeting between the two teams, but a rematch looms on May 14. Bensalem, William Tennent, Abington and Council Rock North are alive in the quest for third place in the conference standings.
Titans stand tall – It would have been easy for Central Bucks South to rest of the laurels of last year’s state championship run and write off the 2013 season – with the graduation of nine seniors – to a rebuilding year.
The Titans weren’t about to settle for that, and they are the surprise team in the Continental Conference, owning a share of the conference lead with three other teams.
“To say there were question marks for this year’s team is an understatement, but many of the girls have really stepped up and competed at the varsity level,” coach Dan Hayes said.
According to the Titans’ coach, senior outfielder Hallie Bilker, who had the game-winning hit in South’s 1-0 state title win over Bishop Shanahan in nine innings – has led the offense since day one.
“Kristyn Marinelli has been a standout in the circle after having seen most of her playing time at first base last year,” Hayes said. “Ally Horvath has been our ‘table setter’ from the leadoff position where she can slap, bunt and beat out many infield hits or – when needed – turn around and hit from the right side and rocket one into the gap.”
Sammi Meyers has stepped in behind the plate and become an offensive force in the middle of the lineup. Sophomore Maddie Decker, who saw part-time action as a designated player last year, has taken over the shortstop position, a position she had never played on a fulltime basis until this season.
Two players – Hailey Warner and Taylor Gallagher – have moved up from jayvee and made important contributions to this year’s squad. Both boast averages well over .300 with impressive power stats.
“They probably could have played varsity on many teams, but with the talent being so high the past couple of years, they had to wait their turn,” Hayes said.
The Titans are 8-3 in league play with games remaining against Central Bucks West (Tuesday), Souderton (Thursday) and Central Bucks East (Monday).
Hawks learning to fly – The tide is beginning to turn at Council Rock South. The Golden Hawks are proving as much in recent outings. On the heels of Friday’s 7-3 nonleague win over Conestoga, the Golden Hawks earned an electrifying 10-9 win over the American Conference’s top squad, Upper Merion, on Monday when – with none out and the bases loaded in a tie game - freshman Mikayla Becker ripped what would have been a grand slam but instead was a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“We were at home, so there was no fence, but it was a shot,” coach Matt McGovern said. “It would have been a true grand slam, but once the first run crossed the plate, the game ends, but she came all the way around.
“This was pretty exciting. They were all pumped. For us, this is five wins on the season, which is huge since we only had three last year.”
Setting the stage for Becker’s heroics were Courtney Testa, who led off the seventh with a single, and Maddy Reif and Kaitlyn Malokowski, who drew back-to-back walks. Interestingly, Malokowski had just been called up from the jayvee game since McGovern had used all of his substitutions and lost one of his starters – Kristen Meihoffer – to back spasms.
“I was just going to bunt Kaitlyn, but she ended up getting walked in a pretty good at-bat,” McGovern said.
Amanda Sharp, who earned the win on the mound, helped her own cause with a double and single. Meihofer led all hitters with three hits, including a triple. Maddy Reif was 2-for-4 with a walk while Chelsea Perkins had a triple and Kate Gaudet, a double.
The Golden Hawks took an early 5-3 lead only to watch the Vikings rally to go on top 6-5. They scored two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to go on top 9-6. The Vikings, however, refused to go down quietly, plating a single run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to knot the score, setting the stage for the thrilling finish.
With no seniors on their roster, the Golden Hawks have a decidedly bright future.
Tennent turning it around – William Tennent stumbled out of the gate to a 1-5 record, but the Panthers have made a dramatic turnaround since that time, winning six of eight games. Included in that run are wins over Council North and Bensalem, teams that had defeated the Panthers in the initial go-round.
“In all of our games in the second half, we have played hard,” said Lisamarie Ramagli, who has taken over the helm for Erika Lee, who just gave birth to her first daughter.
The Panthers’ coach pointed to the offensive performances of Amber O’Toole, Kaitlyn O’Toole, Jackie Heim, Sara Keeney and Nikki Alden as key to that turnaround.
Amber O’Toole, a senior captain, has anchored the Panthers behind the plate.
“She has done a great job blocking the plate and throwing out runners,” Ramagli said. “Her enthusiasm and competitive nature are amazing for our team. She is also one of the hardest working people I have ever met.”
Senior captains Elise Wood and Rachael Raczak both have played various positions.
“They have done a great job moving from position to position this season filling in wherever they are needed and excelled at those positions,” Ramagli said. “They have done a great job with providing support and leadership for all of the underclassmen.”
Alden has been a dominant force on the mound and at the plate.
“She is just an all-around great kid and a pleasure to coach,” Ramagli said. “Honestly, all of the girls on my team had done a great job this season, and we are extremely proud of them as players and young ladies. The work ethic these girls have is unlike any I have ever seen before.”
Heim is a freshman who has stepped into a starting role.
“She has proved to be a very mature softball player, coming up with clutch defensive plays and also contributing offensively,” Ramagli said. “Whitney Delagol has moved from second base to shortstop and adapted with ease. Her powerful arm and good range are a fit for shortstop. Whitney has also come through in clutch situations at the plate.
“All of our players have played a key role in at least one or more games this season.”
Quense in command – It’s hardly a secret that Lauren Quense is the hardest throwing pitcher in the league, if not the district, and Neshaminy’s senior power pitcher is zeroing in on a milestone – 400 career strikeouts. Quense has 394 strikeouts in 267 innings during a stellar varsity career. Making that accomplishment even more impressive is the fact that she only became the starter three quarters of the way through her sophomore year because of the abundance of pitching depth on the team.
“Lauren has put in countless hours of work to be bigger and strong, and it has really paid off,” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “This is an awesome accomplishment.”
The Redskins will face Council Rock South on Tuesday and Council Rock North on Thursday. Look for Quense to hit the milestone sooner rather than later.
Panthers on the rise – If Tennent is the surprise team in the National Conference, Quakertown has that distinction in the Continental Conference. The Panthers are just 3-8 in league play (7-8 overall), but they have been playing teams tough all season. After falling to Pennridge 2-1 and Central Bucks East 4-3, the Panthers got over the hump last Thursday when they upset defending district champion North Penn 5-4, avenging an early season 3-2 loss to the Maidens.
“We have been playing well most of the year,” coach Rich Scott said. “There have been a lot of one-run games. We just didn’t get the break we needed to get the win.
“It was finally nice to get the break we needed to get the win. It was a huge win over a very good team. It’s a shame it didn’t happen sooner in the year because I think it would have really helped us the rest of the games. Hopefully, it will help us the rest of the way, and we can go from there.”
The Panthers served notice in the second inning they meant business, plating a pair of runs. Highlights included back-to-back doubles by Maddie Mulhall and Jess Cramp (RBI) and an RBI single by Janelle Croisette.
In the third inning, Spenser Gray led off with a single, and she scored on an RBI single by Maddie Calder. An RBI single by Emily Reis put the Panthers on top 4-0. The Maidens cut that lead in half with a pair of runs in the fourth, but the Panthers got one of those runs back in the fifth on a botched Maiden rundown to go on top 5-2.
Things got real interesting in the seventh when the Maidens – with a run already across – still had the bases loaded with one out. Reis turned a grounder to third into a forceout at home for the inning’s second out, but the drama was far from over. A single by the next batter sent one run across, but the tying run was gunned down attempting to score on a perfect throw from leftfielder Becca Robison to Croisette for the game’s final out.
“It was a nail biter,” Scott said. “Believe me, that whole seventh inning I was really, really praying because the girls deserved it.
“They have been playing very well, and they deserved to win.”
Cramp earned the win on the mound. She was relieved in the fourth inning with two outs and runners on first and third by Ali McIntyre.
“She threw one pitch, and their runner at first broke for second, and Maddie Calder threw her out to end the inning,” Scott said.
McIntyre did not allow a run the rest of the way, earning the save.
The Panthers’ turnaround has been especially significant for the team’s five seniors – Reis, Croisette, Cramp, Meghan Lopes and Brittny Buoanno-Taylor - who have been part of the program for four years. Reis, Croisette, Lopes and Buoanno-Taylor have been playing at the varsity level for four years, and the only reason Cramp wasn’t is because she had to bide her time her freshman year on jayvee behind pitcher Justyne Pepkowski.
Quakertown followed Thursday’s upset with a 4-2 nonleague win over Wissahickon on Friday. Cramp and McIntyre struck out four and scattered seven hits with McIntyre earning her second save in as many days. Buoanno-Taylor had two RBIs and Gray and Calder each had one RBI.
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