Check out the results for SOL softball teams in action on opening day Friday.
WILLIAM TENNENT 6 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 5
The Panthers exploded for four runs in the first inning and then used their small ball game to tack on two more runs in the fifth on their way to Friday’s opening day win.
“I told our kids – 21 outs,” Tennent coach Biz Keeny said. “You can’t tack on those extra outs and extra pitches. You drop a ball at a base, you’re talking an extra three, four, five pitches. You do that two times it’s 10 or 12 extra pitches kids probably aren’t ready to throw.
“We haven’t been on a field. It’s not just us – it’s everybody. High scoring games might be the norm, but I would think the pitching would be a little bit ahead of the hitting. Nobody has scrimmages to really get some innings under their belts.”
Nikki Alden earned the win on the mound, fanning four and allowing eight hits. She also had a big day at the plate and got the ball rolling in to the top of the first inning, ripping a two-run triple after Sarah Keeny and Jackie Heim opened the game with back-to-back singles. Laura Petri followed with an RBI double, and a Whitney Gelagol RBI single spotted the Panthers a 4-0 lead. The Panthers left the bases loaded.
The defending district champion Patriots didn’t go down quietly, plating single runs in the first, third and fourth innings. The Panthers plated two runs in the fifth to up their lead to 6-3, squeezing home back-to-back runs after putting runners on second and third.
“I was very, very pleased with our bunting today,” Keeny said. “I thought we did an excellent job with small ball. We squeezed two runs in, we sacrificed very well to get runners in scoring position, so that was a positive.
“Early on, I thought we hit the ball well, but we didn’t defend as well as we need to in order to be good in our conference.”
The Patriots made things interesting with a pair of runs in the fifth, thanks to a two-run home run by Brady Tillotson. Alden shut them down the rest of the way.
“We knew they were coming up with some big hitters in the seventh,” Keeny said. “The game ended with (East runners on) second and third.
“In the fifth inning, (Caroline) Schoenewald is a good player, and she came up and got a hit. Tillotson crushed the ball today into the wind – it was impressive. “I thought they tilted the momentum. I thought we had the momentum early, but we booted the ball a little bit. With all due respect to our kids, we’ve been in gyms. We’ve yet to be on our game field. Everything we’ve done is indoors where every hop is a true hop.”
Keeny credited East hurler Kayla Ventura for her performance in relief.
“She’s impressive,” he said. “I hadn’t seen her, but she threw the ball very, very well for them.
“Ventura came in and did a real nice job. We tried to get the momentum back. We had second and third – we squeezed one in and then we squeezed another in. That’s how we got to six. It’s not like we ripped the cover off the ball against Ventura. Not at all. She came in a shut the door very well for them.”
Alden, Petri, Keeny and Kate O’Toole led the Panthers 11-hit attack with two hits each. For the Patriots, Danielle Marzetti reached base four times while Schoenewald also had a pair of hits.
“I give them a lot of credit,” Keeny said. “They battled back.
“We threw the ball around a little bit, but we haven’t been on a field. I thought our small game was very effective. I told the girls – it’s not who we play, it’s how well we play.”
William Tennent 400 020 0-6
Central Bucks East 111 000 2-5
SOUDERTON 13, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 5
Souderton rallied from an early three-run deficit to take an 8-3 lead and then sealed the win with a five-run seventh inning.
“Our biggest problem last year was closing it out in the seventh inning and doing better late in games,” coach Stephanie Rummell said. “It was so nice that we battled back and didn’t fall apart like we had sometimes in the past.”
Haley DeLany had a big day at the plate, coming within a single of hitting for the cycle while going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs. The UMBC-bound senior collected a triple in Souderton’s three-run third and a double in a five-run fifth that put the Indians on top 8-3. She hit her home run in the seventh. Amanda Brush reached base four times with one hit and three walks. She had three RBIs. Souderton held a 12-8 advantage in hits on a day that saw both teams benefit from some free passes.
“They walked us seven times, and they had five hit batters,” Rummell said. “We hit four batters and had three walks.
“It was not a very good game, but everything is different when you’re on a field, and we haven’t been on a field. It’s tough for both teams.”
Erelle Sowers earned the win in relief of Heather Milligan.
“Erelle pitched amazing – she did really well,” Rummell said. “Angie Carty had a great over-the-shoulder catch in right field that probably would have been a home run. She ran it down very nice, and that could have been a game changer.
“We had Alex Gaydos catching for the five innings Erelle was in, and she’s new on the varsity team this year, and she did very well defensively.”
Souderton 003 500 5-13
Council Rock North 120 000 2-5
NESHAMINY 6, LITTLE FLOWER 5
Sarah Snider-Leonhauser delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning, plating freshman Hunter Hart. It was Hart’s pinch single – the first hit of her career – that set the stage for the win. The Redskins took a 3-0 lead in the first and added a single run in the second.
Senior pitcher Carly Coleman was cruising along until Little Flower scored three runs in the fourth, benefitting from walks and errors to make it a 4-3 game. Little Flower scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to go on top 5-4. The ‘Skins knotted the score in the bottom of the inning when Mackensie Compton scored on Sam Offenback’s successful suicide squeeze, setting the stage for the dramatic seventh.
Senior pitcher Jenny Rakita, who entered the game in relief, earned the win. Compton led the ‘Skins with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate with three runs scored. Nikki Wild was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles while Snider-Leonhauser was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 5, UPPER DUBLIN 0
LC hurler Ashley Seal tossed a one-hit shutout, fanning 15 and walking four in a standout performance. Junior Rachel Matricardi had the lone hit for the Card. Her sister, freshman Rebecca Matricardi, absorbed the loss on the mound. LC’s Amanda Bradley was 2-for-4 with an RBI single. Seal was 2-for-2 with an RBI while Alicia Kradzinski and Alyssa Messina each had a double.
Upper Dublin 000 000 0-0
Lansdale Catholic 021 002 0-5
DOWNINGTOWN WEST 19, NORTH PENN 14
Things looked promising for the Maidens when they opened up an 11-3 lead only to watch the Whippets rally to go on top 19-11 before the Maidens tacked on three runs in the seventh.
UPPER PERKIOMEN 3, PENNRIDGE 0
The Lady Rams managed just two hits in Friday’s shutout loss to the Tribe.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 4, UPPER MERION 3 (9 innings)
CHICHESTER 5, HARRY S TRUMAN 1
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