Check out Thursday and Friday’s SOL softball results.
National Conference
WILLIAM TENNENT 6, HARRY S TRUMAN 1
It’s been quite a week for the Panthers, who entered the week with an 0-4 record in conference play but closed it 3-4 after three straight wins.
“They’re finally playing their game,” coach Erika Lee said. “I said to them after the game - whatever was going on before, they found a way to turn it around.”
Nikki Alden turned in her third masterpiece of the week, this time allowing just one hit while fanning nine and walking just one.
“There’s a really good connection between her and the catcher right now, and she’s just throwing really well,” Lee said. “The girls are really stepping up, and they all feed off of each other.”
The Panthers exploded for five runs in the third inning, and Alden hit a solo home run in the seventh to close out the scoring for Tennent. The Tigers scored their only run of the game in the sixth inning.
Alden helped her own cause with a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Amber O’Toole (2-for-4), Kaitlyn O’Toole (2-for-4) and Rachel Raczak (2-for-3) also had multi-hit days. Whitney Delagol had two RBIs for the Panthers, who collected 10 hits.
“We hit the ball really well today,” Lee said. “The girls are so excited. They seem more relaxed. They’re jelling more.
“The whole attitude is different. I mention a kid after every game, and the kid I mentioned today – Sierra Isaac - just cheered the whole game and kept reminding them that they had to stay on it. She’s so into it and is there for the kids. Even the girls that aren’t playing, every one of them is happy to be winning. One of the things was they needed to put themselves second to the team, and that’s what they’ve been doing. They’ve been working really well as a team, and it’s nice to see.”
The Panthers are 3-4 in the league (4-6 overall) while the Tigers are 1-5 in the league (1-7 overall).
BENSALEM 10, ABINGTON 1
Jackie Morell scattered five hits while fanning eight to lead the Owls to their fourth straight win in league play. Isabel Hansbury had another huge day at the plate, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Lauren Morell was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
The Falcons are 4-2 in league play (4-5 overall) while the Ghosts fell to 2-4 in the league (4-5 overall).
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 9, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2 (Thursday, April 18)
Hannah Mumber turned in a solid outing on the mound to earn the win, and teammates Bailey Bigler, Diana Anendolara, Kelly Hairston and Dominique Pinto delivered big performances at the plate.
The Indians upped their record to 3-4 in the league (3-5 overall) while the Golden Hawks fell to 0-6 in the league (2-6 overall).
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 4, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3
Kristyn Marinelli did it all for the Titans on Friday. She not only earned the win on the mound, she also drove in a run that turned out to be the game-winner.
“I don’t understand how she does it, but nobody hits her,” South coach Dan Hayes said. “They had seven hits, but she comes up with the big pitch and the big out when she needs to.
“They hit the ball hard a couple of times, but so did we. They’re a really good hitting team.”
The Titans got on the scoreboard in the first when Hallie Bilker, who tripled, scored on Taylor Gallagher’s booming two-out double.
“She hit one that would have been out of Citizens Bank Park, I think,” Hayes said of Gallagher’s double. “That would have been out of any field in the league that had a fence, but she had to settle for a double without a fence. It was a blast.”
In the third inning, the Titans added three runs. Ally Horvath got things started with a one-out infield single. Bilker drew a walk and scored when East committed an error on a sacrifice bunt by Sammi Meyers. With two outs, Marinelli singled to center to drive in a pair, giving the Titans a 4-0 lead.
The Patriots got one of those back in the third when they plated an unearned run. In the fifth inning, Allie Chase – who had four of her team’s seven hits – delivered an RBI triple, and she scored on Julia Schoenewald’s sacrifice fly to make it a 4-3 game.
Neither team scored the rest of the way.
Bilker reached base on three trips to the plate with a single, double and walk. Hope Darreff came up big defensively for the Titans, contributing four assists and three putouts.
While the Patriots fell to 5-2 in the league (9-2 overall), the Titans (9-2, 6-1 SOL) find themselves sharing the conference’s top spot with Hatboro after once around.
“I told them on the bus afterwards – this was a big win,” Hayes said. “The final game of the first half of the year - to be in our position, I don’t think too many people thought we’d be where we are. It’s a credit to the kids. They worked hard, and they’ve come up big.”
PENNRIDGE 1, NORTH PENN 0
Paige DeCew stole the spotlight in Friday’s win. The Rams’ mound ace not only tossed a two-hit shutout, she also singled and scored the game’s only run.
“First pitch strikes were definitely important, and my screwball was working today,” DeCew said. “I got them to chase some pitches.
“As a pitcher, the wind blowing in definitely helped me. When we were hitting, it was definitely a disadvantage.”
DeCew struck out two and walked four, and according to coach Paul Koehler, this win was hard earned for his veteran hurler.
“I don’t know what inning it was, but she looked at me and said, ‘He (the umpire) is just killing me,’” the Rams’ coach said. “It was a really tough strike zone.
“I said, ‘Paige, you’re the best at what you do, and you have to fight through this.’ She really dug deep. I give her all the credit in the world. Emotionally, she just found something extra and started throwing it where he would give it and kept it away from them. How she goes – we go.”
According to DeCew, Friday’s win over the defending district champs after the Rams dropped three of their last four games was a much needed boost.
“I think this will definitely give us confidence to keep moving forward because we were a little bit down,” she said. “I think this will give us the momentum to get back up.
“This league is really tough. Our non-league games (three lopsided Ram wins) were definitely different, but in the league, you never know. It could go any way. It’s always a game.”
The Rams scored the game’s only run in the second. DeCew led off the inning with a single, and her courtesy runner – Lisa Bahmueller - moved up to second on a sacrifice by Morgan Labs. Briana Gery’s sacrifice advanced Bahmueller to third, and she crossed the plate on a Maiden miscue.
The Maidens had a chance to get that run back in the third when they had a pair of runners on board with one out, but DeCew coaxed a ground ball to third out of the next batter she faced, and the threat ended on a fly ball to right field.
All told, the Maidens stranded eight runners.
“Today we had our scoring chances, but we just didn’t get the clutch hit,” Maiden coach Rick Torresani said. “I tried bunting, I tried everything to get them going, but it just didn’t work. Our seniors have to step up.”
Jackie Bilotti – who collected both of her team’s hits – allowed just five hits and no earned runs. She fanned five and walked three.
While the Maidens fell to 3-4 in the league (5-4 overall), the Rams upped their record to 4-3 in the league (7-3 overall).
“This is really important for us because we’ve lost three really tough ones,” Koehler said. “We’ve been talking to the kids about believing in themselves.
“Those three losses we had – we could have won all of those. Whether the kids knew it or not, the team that lost this game - it’s tough because you’ve dug a four-loss hole in this division, and that’s going to be tough to overcome.
“It was really big from the standpoint of us being able to stay in the hunt. I think for their confidence it’s going to be really huge. I think this will help Paige being able to pitch through that tough strike zone and being able to keep this team to nothing – it was a good day for her, and defensively, we played really well.”
SOUDERTON 13, QUAKERTOWN 4
Paige Shelly hit a two-run home run, and Nikki Canfield had a three-run home run to lead the Indians to the decisive win. Amanda Brush was 2-for-2 with a double, triple and three runs scored, and Dayna Shelly was 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Sarah Derstine was 2-for-3 on the day with a double and four RBIs. Freshman Angie Carty was 2-for-3. All told, the Indians had 14 hits. It is the third game in a row in which Souderton's offense had 14 or more hits.
The pitching combination of Salina Allebach and Megan Roynan allowed a total of eight hits and four runs. Allebach was credited with the win on the mound.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the first, but the Indians tied the score in the second and then took control with a six-run third. They added four more runs in the fourth and two in the fifth before the Panthers scored three in the bottom of the fifth.
The Indians are 3-4 in the league (6-5 overall) while the Panthers are 1-6 in league play (3-6 overall).
HATBORO-HORSHAM 14, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (Thursday, April 18)
The Hatters brought an early end to Thursday’s contest, plating five runs in the first, three in the second and five more in the third.
The Hatters were led by the perfect 3-for-3 efforts of Carlie Johnson (2 RBIs) and Nicole Casagrand (3 RBIs). Heather Lutz was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and her second home run in as many games. Freshman Andrea Baldus collected her first varsity hit.
Emily Wrenn allowed no hits and no runs in two innings on the mound.
The Hatters upped their record to 6-1 in league play (8-1 overall). The Bucks are 0-7 in the league (0-11 overall).
American Conference
WISSAHICKON 2, UPPER MORELAND 1
The Golden Bears gave the Trojans all they could handle in Friday’s American Conference battle, but sparked by the six-hit effort of Emma Goodrich on the mound, the Trojans eked out the win.
The Trojans plated both of their runs in the third inning. Britt Gelman led off with a single, and Kellie Gillman was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for back-to-back RBI singles by Alex Comonitski and Merdith Byrne.
In the sixth inning, the Golden Bears cut that lead in half when Karli Lynch, who had doubled, scored on Miller’s RBI single.
Byrne led the Trojans with a 2-for-3 day at the plate.
The Trojans improved to 5-2 in the league (6-3 overall) while the Golden Bears fell to 1-6.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 9, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 3
To say Tricia Link has given the Colonials a lift would be an understatement. Coach Dana Moyer gave Link the starting nod on Wednesday against Upper Dublin, and the junior hurler went out and threw a complete game to earn the win.
On Friday, Link did even better, tossing her first no hitter. She struck out six and walked two.
Moyer credited third baseman Jocelyn Porrino, shortstop Elena Iannuzzelli and second baseman Jordan Katz for making key defensive plays in the win.
Offensive standouts for the Colonials were Corinne Watson (2-for-4, double, 2 RBIs, two runs scored) and Susan Janfrancisco (2-for-4, double, 2 RBIs, two runs scored). Also contributing timely singles were Katz, Rachel Konowal, Jewel Terraces, Iannuzzelli and Michele Taunton (RBI).
The Colonials scored three runs in the top of the first only to watch the Spartans answer with a pair in the bottom of the inning. It was a 4-3 game after three innings, and that score held until the Colonials erupted for five runs in the seventh to ice the win.
The Colonials are 4-3 in the league (4-4 overall) while the Spartans fell to 1-6 in the league (3-6 overall).
UPPER MERION at UPPER DUBLIN (Postponed)
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