Several key games were played on Friday. This notebook highlights those games and also takes a look at fascinating state of SOL softball as the second go-round in conference play gets underway.
By Mary Jane Souder
Expect the unexpected.
That appears to be the theme for this year’s SOL season.
It’s certainly been the story in the Continental and National Conferences where there’s no such thing as a sure win.
The American Conference is the only conference to have shown any degree of consistency as Upper Merion and Cheltenham appear to have turned it into a two-team race. The defending champion Vikings have the upper hand after eking out a 2-0 win over the Lady Panthers in the first go-round. The May 8 rematch at Upper Merion – a night game - undoubtedly will determine the conference champion. Look for both teams to earn invitations to the district tournament.
In the National Conference, there’s nothing resembling consistency with six teams boasting records of .500 or better. Perennial powers Neshaminy and Pennsbury are both 5-3 in conference play, trailing first place William Tennent by two games in the loss column. Council Rock South has quietly become a player in the conference under first-year coach Greg Heydet Sr, trailing Tennent by just one game in the loss column. Truman, meanwhile, is proving it is not to be taken lightly after notching back-to-back wins last week over Tennent (3-2) and Neshaminy (11-7). With a win over Neshaminy already under its belt, Abington is proving it is not a pushover either.
All bets are also off when it comes to the Continental Conference where five teams are bunched at the top of the standings within two games of each other. All five squads have at least one loss and none of the five have more than three. Souderton is atop the standings with a 6-1 record, and despite the loss of nine seniors from last year’s district championship squad, Central Bucks East (6-2) trails the Indians by just a game in the loss column. Central Bucks South, Hatboro-Horsham and North Penn all boast identical 5-3 records in league play.
The biggest battle raging as the season comes down the home stretch is the war for a spot in districts. Last year the Continental Conference sent six of its eight teams to the District One AAAA Tournament – (2) Hatboro-Horsham, (4) Central Bucks South, (7) Central Bucks East, (12) Pennridge, (13) North Penn, and (19) Souderton. The National Conference boasted two of the tournament’s top three seeds but sent just three squads to the 24-team tournament – (1) Neshaminy, (3) Pennsbury and (23) William Tennent.
Only Neshaminy and Pennsbury boasted records above .500 in National Conference play last season with Bensalem and Tennent finishing in a tie for third behind the perennial powers with identical 7-7 records.
In the Continental Conference, four teams finished above .500 in conference play last season, and North Penn and Souderton – tied for fifth – were 7-7 and carried overall records above .500. The Maidens, despite their 13 seed, advanced to the state semifinals where they fell to state runner-up Neshaminy 3-2.
This year there’s not nearly as much clarity, and if the district seeding committee met today, at least five National Conference and five Continental Conference teams could put up valid arguments for earning district berths. That doesn’t take into account that the American Conference will most certainly be represented as well. Things can change in a hurry, and the logjam at the top of both the National and Continental Conferences could clear up this week.
If things remain muddled, look for the district seeding meeting to be a very spirited meeting.
Owls looking to fly in conference play – Bensalem is perhaps the most fascinating of all the SOL teams this season. The Owls are 1-6 in league play but 4-0 in non-league games. That might not sound unusual since teams sometimes stack their non-league schedule with cream puffs, but the Owls have done just the opposite, and they’ve made relatively easy business of an impressive lineup of non-league foes.
The Owls began their 4-0 run with a 10-0 win over defending American Conference champion Upper Merion in an abbreviated contest. They followed that by edging Archbishop Ryan 3-2. An 8-3 win over Central Bucks East came on the heels of that win, and the Owls most recent victim was North Penn this past Friday in a non-league contest that saw Bensalem roll to an 8-2 win.
That win came on the heels of an 8-6 loss to Pennsbury 24 hours earlier in a contest that saw the Owls score five runs in the seventh inning.
“I took it into another gear before the seventh inning at the Pennsbury game,” coach Dan Schram said. “I just decided – ‘Let’s not worry about what we can’t control. Let’s be as positive as we can be.’
“We started cheering and chanting and going nuts, and we almost turned that game around. We hit a turning point in that game. We really did. (Against North Penn), we came out from the start, and we went for it. We really went for it.”
In Friday’s win, senior Isabel Hansbury was 2-for-3 with a triple, Jackie Morell and Lauren Morell were both 1-for-3 with two RBIs, and Katie Reiss was 3-for-3 with an RBI. Jackie Morell also earned the win on the mound.
“We really hit – we did well,” Schram said. “I am so proud of my pitcher. She’s one of the toughest young ladies I’ve had the privilege to coach.
“One of the great things is I get to see the complete person. I’m a government teacher, and seeing her in the classroom and seeing her on the field and how she handles herself – her manners and everything she does, she is a special individual. This was the fourth game she pitched this week. I’m very proud of all the kids, and I’m very proud of her.
“We are really showing that the National Conference is very, very strong this year.”
The Owls are 2-0 against Continental Conference foes.
Indians looking to make their move – The days of the National Conference being a two-team race are officially over – for this year, at least, and Hollie Woodard is making no secret about the fact that she is delighted to find her team in the mix. The Indians earned a must-win on Friday when they defeated Pennsbury 4-3 to even their conference mark at 4-4.
“Our goal is playoffs,” Woodard said. “That’s our goal.
“We need to beat the teams we can beat, and we’ll be in a really good place. We know we can hit, but we have to finish it.”
The Indians managed just four hits and collected three of those in a two-run first. Bailey Bigler led off the game with a triple, and she scored on a single by Nicole Rounsavill. With one out, Hannah Mumber collected an RBI single to give the Indians a 2-0 lead. In the second, the Indians plated an unearned run without collecting a hit, benefitting from a leadoff hit batter (Kelly Harrison) and a costly Falcon error.
The Falcons, who managed just three hits, erased that lead with three runs in the top of the third. Sophomore Amanda Camp entered the game in the inning and silenced the Falcons the rest of the way.
The Indians scored the winning run in the fourth – again benefitting from a Pennsbury error.
Like Bensalem, the Indians have a 5-3 non-league win over Central Bucks East.
“Every time someone wins a crossover game, that’s huge,” Woodard said. “It’s just in the last few years that the Continental has been able to get more teams in, and it’s been really, really frustrating on our end because we knew we could beat teams in District One, but we would be guaranteed four losses because Pennsbury and Neshaminy were the top teams in our state.
“That’s four losses right from the get-go, but we can still compete. We needed to schedule crossover games (against the Continental), and now it’s happening. You can’t lie about the data.”
Looming on Rock North’s horizon is a huge crossover game against North Penn.
Stay tuned.
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