KING OF PRUSSIA – Allie Lutz suggested that Upper Merion’s 12-6 come-from-behind win over Upper Moreland on Tuesday was a testimony to the Vikings’ character.
She might be right.
The Vikings found themselves staring at a 5-0 deficit at the end of three innings. They were unfazed, outscoring the Golden Bears 12-1 the rest of the way en route to a 12-6 win.
“This is really big,” Lutz said. “It shows a lot of character about our team – how we’re able to come from behind. We were down by five runs, and to come back and win by that margin really shows a lot about our team.”
It certainly showed that the Vikings are opportunistic – they capitalized on costly Golden Bear miscues to plate eight unearned runs.
“We have been trouble giving up the big inning,” Upper Moreland coach Scott Ludlow said. “One error seems to turn into two errors, and that’s what happened in that inning that let them back in the game.
“We had a couple of chances to get out of the inning and just didn’t make the plays. (The league) is not necessarily like last year where there were three or four pitchers that could just dominate. I really think this year will come down to the team that can get big hits, manufacture runs and most importantly, play good defense.”
The inning that turned the tide came in the fourth with the Golden Bears on top 5-0.
Jordan Haines drew a one-out walk, but it looked as though the Golden Bears would see their way out of the inning when pitcher Madi Denneny – who was working on a no-hitter - coaxed a harmless fly ball to right out of the next batter she faced for the inning’s second out.
Trying to get the third out was another story. Three consecutive errors were followed by a two-run double by Krysta Wellington, and just like that, it was a 5-4 game.
“If you’re the team who’s making the errors, it seems like that inning is just going on forever,” Lutz said. “On the flip side, it’s a great momentum booster for your team because softball is very mental. If you’re the team that’s getting the runs, you have to keep going and get as many as you can.”
The Golden Bears plated a single run in the fifth but might have had more after loading the bases, thanks to one-out singles by Katie Ross, Lisa Carey and Cara Harman. Ross scored on an error, but sophomore hurler Melissa Kulp came up with a huge strikeout, and the Vikings saw their way out of the inning without further damage.The Vikings answered with six runs in the bottom of the inning. Mia Dilella drew a one-out walk, and Haines ripped a double to the left field fence. An error Nicole Kulp’s grounder plated Dilella, and Haines scampered home when Lutz roped an RBI double to deep center.
“We had a couple of days off, and we came out and had a slow warm-up,” Lutz said. “It was really cold out, and that threw us off in the beginning.
“But we’re a team that can get runs any inning. We have a great lineup, so as soon as one person gets on, it’s kind of contagious and spreads to the whole team. We know that no matter how many runs the other team gets, as long as there’s more innings in the game, we still have a chance to come back.”
A walk to Casey Czerpak set the stage for a two-base error on Wellington’s fly ball to the outfield, allowing two more runs to cross the plate, and the Vikings led 10-6 after Jenny Desimone lined an RBI single to center.
For good measure, the Vikings tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth. Dilella doubled to left center to open the inning, and the dangerous Haines – who undoubtedly won’t be seeing a whole lot of good pitches this season - drew her second walk of the game.
“It’s really just being ready at the first pitch every time I go up,” she said. “When I start to swing at pitches out of the zone is when it gets a little more frustrating. I just have to be patient.”
Both runners advanced on Melissa Kulp’s sacrifice bunt, and Lutz delivered a two-run single to center to put the Vikings on top 12-6.
“We really needed this win,” Lutz said. “We came off a rough loss to Norristown last week, so this being the only game this week – it really meant a lot to get this win.”A bright spot in the loss was the fact that the Golden Bears actually outhit the Vikings 13-6.
“This is the third game we have had at least as many hits if not more hits than the opposition,” Ludlow said. “If we eliminate one or two of those errors in the right spots, we could walk away with a win instead of a six-run loss.”
The Golden Bears had their hitting shoes on early. In the second, they bunched four singles by Costello, Ross, Carey (RBI) and Robinson (RBI) to go on top 3-0.
“We have been hitting very well, but it’s the defensive side that we struggle with,” said Carey, who along with Harman had three hits. “We only have three players who actually played varsity with each other before. We just have to get used to each other.
“We’re definitely improving from our first scrimmage.”
The Golden Bears upped their lead to 5-0 in the third. Sarah Decarolis got things started with a slap single, and Denneny followed with a ground single to left. Decarolis scored on a groundout by Ross, and Denneny came home on a Viking miscue.
“We talked about not getting down after one play, and that one play won’t affect the next and the next,” Haines said. “We talked about getting on base, and the rest of the team will follow.”
The Vikings heeded their own advice and won going away.
“Everyone in the league seems pretty evenly matched,” Haines said. “It’s just who comes out to play on what day and who keeps their heads in the game the most and stays focused.”
On Tuesday, it was the Vikings who made the plays when they had to.
“Teams are going to hit the ball,” Upper Merion coach John Whitney said. “I told them, ‘The most important thing we have to do is field the ball. We have to be a very good defensive team.
“We had a couple of lapses, and we can’t do that. I have most of my lineup back from last year, and this team can hit at any time.”
UPPER MERION 12, UPPER MORELAND 6
Upper Moreland: Jen Cherry cf 4 0 0 0; Steph Decarolis ss 4 1 2 0; Madi Denneny p 3 1 2 0; Katie Costello lf 2 1 1 0; Heck rf 0 0 0 0; Balcerak cf 2 0 0 0; Katie Ross 1b 4 1 1 1; Lisa Carey 3b 4 1 3 1; Cara Harman rf 4 1 3 0 Kristen Robinson 2b 3 0 1 1; Erin Dixon c 4 0 0 1. TOTALS 34 6 13 4.
Upper Merion: Jessica Moore cf 4 0 0 0; Mia Dilella 2b 3 2 1 0; Jordan Haines ss 2 3 1 0; Melissa Kulp p 3 1 0 0; Allie Lutz 3b 4 2 2 3; Nicole Kulp lf 3 1 0 0; Casey Czerpak rf 3 2 0 0; Mariel Desimone 1b 1 0 0 0; Krysta Wellington 1b 2 1 1 2; Jenny Desimone c 3 0 1 1. TOTALS 28 12 6 6.
Upper Moreland 032 010 0-6
Upper Merion 000 462 x-12
E-UMerion 2, UMoreland 5. LOB-UMoreland 9, UMerion 5. DP-UMerion 1. 2B-Wellington, Haines, Lutz, Dilella. 2B-Czerpak, N.Kulp, Costello, Decarolis. SAC-M.Kulp.
IP H R ER BB SO
Upper Moreland
Denneny (L) 6 6 12 4 5 6
Upper Merion
M.Kulp (W) 7 13 6 5 2 3
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