Check out the results for SOL softball teams in action Monday.
National Conference
PENNSBURY 10, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2
The Falcons scored early and often, plating a single run in the first and then seizing control of the game with a six-run second inning. At the end of three innings, the Falcons led 9-1 on their way to the decisive win.
Freshman Alyssa Hileman earned the complete game win on the mound.
“With our young pitcher starting her first league game and after playing Robbinsville and getting beat Saturday night, this was really big to get her some confidence,” coach Frank McSherry said. “Knowing Council Rock South had beaten Neshaminy, we knew anything at all could happen.”
The tone might well have been set in the top of the first. Marguerite Salamone, who scored three runs, singled to open the inning, and after a costly Golden Hawk miscue, she scored on a sacrifice fly by Bailee Zaccaro to spot the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
In the six-run second, the Falcons collected seven of their 10 hits. It was Zaccaro – who had a team high four RBIs – delivering a two-run double to highlight the frame.
Hileman, Arden Rabiger, Maddie McQuaid and Mia Pitt all turned in 2-for-4 efforts at the plate to lead the Falcons. Hileman and Rabiger are both freshman while McQuaid and Pitt are sophomores on a Falcon squad loaded with youth.
Pennsbury (9-6, 5-5 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday while Council Rock South (9-6, 5-5) will host William Tennent.
Pennsbury 162 001 0 10-10-1
Council Rock South 001 001 0 2-6-2
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 10, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (5 innings)
Emily Gillard faced 15 batters, and she retired all 15, tossing a perfect game in the abbreviated five-inning contest. It wasn’t exactly the script coach Dan Hayes expected to follow, but the Titans’ coach had no complaints.
“Since Maddie (Decker) went down, she and Alexis (McConomy) have been sharing the pitching,” Hayes said. “I told them before the game started – ‘Emily, you’re going to start and go three innings. I don’t really care what the score is or what’s going on. You’re going to go three, and Alexis will come in and get a couple of innings.’
“After the third inning, the eyebrows went up. I said, ‘All right, I’ll give you one more.’ She got through the fourth inning, and, of course, I let her go in the fifth. She was moving the ball around real good. She doesn’t throw real hard, but when she locates her ball, it moves pretty well.”
The Bucks played flawless defense behind Gillard.
“We played well,” Hayes said. “Our shortstop, Makaela Simons, made a couple of nice plays. She had three ground balls in the fifth inning and five or six total. The last one was the hardest hit ball of the game.
“A left-handed kid hit it, and it’s slicing the other way. She picked it and threw her out. Cassie Underkoffler, our leftfielder, had a nice play on a ball coming in on a bloop hit.”
Freshman Alex DeLeon had a big day at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with a triple.
“She’s back in the groove,” Hayes said. “I had her leading off, and she seemed to be pressing a little bit.
“I dropped her down to six the last couple of games, and she’s had three hits in both games.”
Also sparking the Titans’ 15-hit attack were Meg Bradley and Maddie Bieber, who were both 2-for-4.
Central Bucks South (10-5, 7-4 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday (6 p.m.) while Central Bucks West (4-11, 2-8) will host North Penn.
Central Bucks South 243 10 10
Central Bucks West 000 00 0
American Conference
UPPER MORELAND 5, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4
The Golden Bears jumped out to an early lead and then withstood a late Colonial rally. The game followed a similar pattern to Upper Moreland’s 7-6 win over PW earlier this season.
“PW is one of those teams – we got ahead of them in both games, and they chipped away and chipped away,” coach Scott Ludlow said. “We managed to hold on both times.”
In the bottom of the first, Alexa Wister, who legged out a bunt single to open the frame, scored on an Allie Miller groundout. A second run crossed the plate when Alison Creighton singled. The Bears added a pair of runs in the second and led 5-1 heading to the sixth when the Colonials plated a pair. They made things interesting with a single run in the seventh.
“We managed to turn two double plays – one in the sixth and one in the seventh,” Ludlow said. “The one in the sixth was a 6-4-3 double play. The one in the seventh – they actually had runners on second and third with no outs. They hit a ground ball to my shortstop (Brianna Byard), who tug the runner and threw to first to get the out.
“We went from the tying run going to third base to two outs, nobody on and still up one. That was quite a key play in the seventh.”
Wister was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, Miller also was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Creighton was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI.
Amber O’Connor earned the win in the circle, upping her record to 5-4 on the season.
While Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-9, 1-9 SOL) will host Upper Dublin Tuesday, Upper Moreland (6-4, 5-3) will travel to Springfield.
“Starting Monday of last week, we have 13 games in 15 school days,” Ludlow said. “We had four games last week – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, we have five this week, and then next week we have a doubleheader Monday and games Wednesday and Thursday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 000 102 1 4
Upper Moreland 220 100 x 5
UPPER MERION 12, SPRINGFIELD-MONTCO 0 (5 INNINGS)
Olivia Sborlini tossed a two-hit shutout, fanning eight in the abbreviated five-inning contest. It was her third consecutive shutout and came on the heels of the Vikings’ impressive 3-0 win over Villa Maria Academy.
If that wasn’t enough, Sborlini also jumpstarted the Vikings’ offense, delivering a two-run homer to highlight a four-run first inning. Linda Sobeck singled home a pair with the bases loaded to put the Vikings on top 4-0.
In the fourth, the Vikings blew the game wide open with an eight-run burst. They capitalized on several Spartan errors, and Micaela Ghanayem doubled in a pair.
Sborlini, Sobek and Ghanayem each had a pair of RBIs to lead the Vikings.
Jen Hammons, who absorbed the loss, and Alyssa Ard accounted for the Spartans’ two hits.
Upper Merion (11-2, 9-0 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon Tuesday Springfield (6-4, 6-3) will host Upper Moreland.
Upper Merion 408 00 12-6-0
Springfield 000 00 0-2-4
CHELTENHAM 10, WISSAHICKON 3 (Resumed game)
The Lady Panthers had an 8-2 lead over the Trojans when their April 22 game was halted because of rain heading into the top of the third. When play resumed on Monday, the Panthers tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth while the Trojans scored one in the third.
Veata Blair-Kraybill was one at-bat away from potentially hitting for the cycle. As it was, the promising freshman finished the day 3-for-3 with a home run, triple and single. Maddie Bear also had a productive day, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Becca Simms was 2-for-3.
“Becca continues to be consistent – she’s really hitting the ball well,” coach Ron Perlstein said.
Senior Grace LaRosa earned the win in the circle.
“She had a nice lead going into it, so that made things much easier,” Perlstein said. “They fought right away. They loaded the bases in the third.
“She fought out of it. She’s been doing that lately again, which is good – getting herself out of trouble and pitching strong. She had girls on base all over, and she fought out of it.”
Cheltenham (8-6, 7-3 SOL) will travel to Norristown on Tuesday. Wissahickon (6-8, 4-5) will host Upper Merion.
Cheltenham 620 110 0 10
Wissahickon 201 000 0 3
Non-league
QUAKERTOWN 7, WILLIAM TENNENT 1
Lauren Beal had herself a day on Monday.
The sophomore power hitter roped a pair of home runs over the fence at Tennent. Her first – in a two-run third – came immediately after Tara Baglivo had tripled. The two-run shot put the visiting Panthers on top 3-0.
Tennent got one of those runs back in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 3-1 game, but Quakertown – or more specifically Beal – took the suspense out of this one with a three-run blast in the top of the seventh to highlight a four-run uprising.
“I have been waiting for this all year,” coach Rich Scott said of Beal’s impressive display of power hitting.
Baglivo finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Emma McLaughlin was 2-for-3 on a day that saw the visiting Panthers hold an 8-6 advantage in hits.
Alyssa Wilkinson tossed five shutout innings to earn the win. Megan Johnson threw an inning and a third in relief.
“I have been telling them all year – just throw strikes and let the defense behind you do the work,” Scott said.
Quakertown (6-8, 2-8 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday while Tennent (4-11, 1-9) will travel to Council Rock South.
Quakertown 102 000 4 7
William Tennent 000 001 0 1
HARRY S TRUMAN 2, PENNRIDGE 0
Jess O’Neil tossed a complete game one-hit shutout in an impressive outing under the lights at Druckenmiller Park.
The Tigers scored a single run in the first and tacked on another in the fifth when Stephanie Wolf hit a solo home run.
Meghan Bauer pitched well enough to win on most nights, scattering seven hits while walking one and striking out nine.
Truman (4-10, 2-8 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Tuesday while Pennridge (4-10, 2-8) will travel to Souderton.
Harry S Truman 100 010 0 2
Pennridge 000 000 0 0
UPPER DUBLIN 6, GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 1
The Flying Cardinals blew open a close game with four runs in the top of the seventh, turning a tenuous 2-1 lead into a 6-1 advantage that held for the final. Sarah Tannenbaum’s RBI double highlighted the four-run outburst.
Sarah Sharp had a productive day on the base paths, finishing the day 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs scored.
Rebecca Matricardi earned the win, allowing six hits and one run while walking two and fanning seven in six strong innings. Tara Monaghan closed it out with a one-two-three seventh, which included one strikeout.
Upper Dublinn (5-10, 4-6 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 001 010 4 6
Germantown Academy 000 010 0 1
BENSALEM 9, EMMAUS 8 (9 innings)
The Owls’ lineup took a major hit when La Salle commit Meg Nally was lost for the season to a knee injury.
“It was prior to our Pennsbury game,” said coach Dan Schram. “We lost to Pennsbury 4-3 in a game we gave away, and we were out of it against Hatboro-Horsham (a 5-0 loss).
“Today we went back to the drawing board and once again changed six or seven positions on the field.”
One of those changes included moving Stephanie Yost from the outfield to second base. Earlier this year, the Bensalem junior was honored at the team’s Leukemia Awareness Game.
“She was diagnosed with leukemia in ninth grade and has made a brilliant recovery,” Schram said. “She played jayvee last year and has gotten stronger and stronger.
“In our last game, she started in left (field), and today she started in her natural position at second base. She was fantastic.”
Yost was 4-for-4 with a double and scored a run. Also coming up huge was Carley Smith, who was 4-for-5.
“We have that slogan ‘Bensalem strong,’ and the way Carley approaches the game – she’s gritty, she’s tough, and she brings it every single game,” Schram said. “She played some great ball for Bensalem.
“I have to say – it was a wonderful thing to see the game Steph Yost had. She and I went to the field yesterday just to get her a little acclimated to second base. Even during the course of this year, she’s still been on the recovery from all she’s encountered the last two years. It’s been a mounting force where she’s getting stronger and stronger.
“I knew she had a good bat. We put her out at second, and when you put a kid in their comfort zone, you really get what they’re worth. She was tremendous today. She’s an inspiration, and she’ll be back tomorrow doing the same thing.”
All told, the Owls pounded out 17 hits.
“It was a pretty good offensive day,” Schram said. “Both teams made some errors. It was a slugfest between two teams. Emmaus has a lot of power in their lineup. When they warm up, they look professional. Their pitcher did a nice job on the mound.
“She had a fiery windup. Some balls were very off-speed and others were fast and down. More than anything else, this was a bounce-back win.”
The Owls led 3-1 going into the fifth when the visiting Green Hornets scored four in to go on top 8-5. The Owls had an immediate answer and scored five in the bottom of the inning. Emmaus scored one in the sixth and two more in the seventh to knot the score, setting the stage for extra innings.
“We had a nice break – in the eighth inning with one out, a girl hit a long drive,” Schram said. “The runner they had on third tug and came home.
“We watched it pretty closely. We had two outs, and they would have gone up 9-8, but we appealed the play that she left early, and we got an out. Otherwise, they would have gone up 9-8, and it would have been a totally different feel today. Things worked out our way in that realm.”
Thankful for the reprieve, the Owls won it in the ninth. With one out, Erin McVicar drew a walk, and Smith followed with a double, putting runners on second and third with one out.
“They called for a pitching conference,” Schram said. “I huddled with my players and I said to Chelsea Briggs, ‘You’re going to watch the first pitch, and the second pitch, you’re going to squeeze.’
“I don’t know if the pitcher read my signal or she read what Chelsea was doing, and she threw the ball very, very high, and she threw it over the catcher’s head.”
McVicar raced home with the game winner.
“This was good for the soul, this was good for the spirit,” said Schram, whose team had lost three of four heading into Monday’s contest. “We have been typically going out with 10 kids on the varsity team. Losing a kid like Meg was big, and our spirits were down.
“More than anything else she provided protection. She was someone they didn’t want to pitch to. She’s a strong kid, and more important, her vocal prowess on the field was real important to our success in the beginning of the season.
“I guess we had to go back to square one and learn to walk again and learn how to win as a team again. I’m happy it happened today. This was a big pick-me-up game and a good bounce-back win. I’m very, very proud of the kids.”
Bensalem (8-6, 4-5 SOL) will host Abington on Tuesday.
Emmaus 000 141 200 8
Bensalem 120 050 001 9
HATBORO-HORSHAM 8, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 5
The Hatters exploded for five runs in the second inning and appeared to be in command, but the Crusaders made things interesting with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Hatters answered with a pair in the sixth to go on top 7-3, but the Crusaders didn’t go down quietly, plating single runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings.
Bridget Schaeffer delivered the big blow in the Hatters’ five-run second with a two-run home run. Brynn Griffith had another productive day, finishing the game 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Kaeli Simmons and Jen Cader (RBI) also both were 2-for-4.
The Hatters (9-6, 5-5 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 050 002 1 8
Lansdale Catholic 000 031 1 5
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