On a day that featured washouts and suspended games, Tennent and Upper Dublin picked up wins in SOL softball action.
UPPER DUBLIN 14, CHELTENHAM 0 (5 innings)
The Flying Cardinals needed a win.
After three straight wins to open the season, the Cards dropped their next five, and for a team in dire need of a win, Thursday’s victory – played in less-than-ideal conditions – was a good one.
“It was huge,” coach Heather Boyer said. “We started the season off very, very strong offensively and defensively, and then we hit a big bump in the road.
“We couldn’t seem to get it right. Our bats cooled off, our defense wasn’t as (tight) as it needed to be, and we were struggling in all aspects of the game, so we were really trying to figure out a way to put it back together. To their credit, they did today.
“In some way, every single player on our roster contributed, which was really important.”
The Flying Cardinals scored four runs in the first and three more in the second to take an early 7-0 lead on their way to the win in the abbreviated five-inning contest.
“We started off in the top of the first very aggressive,” Boyer said. “Sarah Sharp got on with a leadoff walk, we bunted her over, and the throw pulled the coverage off of first, and we had runners on first and second.
“Jackie McMenamin came up and had an RBI single, and we just kept putting the ball in play. We scored four runs in the top of the first, and that sets a huge momentum tone in a positive direction, which was really, really important. It takes the pressure off a little bit.”
Tara Monaghan allowed just two hit in five scoreless innings to earn the win, fanning four and walking six. The Cardinals backed their pitcher by playing flawless defense.
“When you play in conditions like this, we had an errorless game,” Boyer said. “We only had four strikeouts, so the ball was in play 11 other times.
“You have a slippery ball and you boot it somewhere, overthrow, misplay it – that could have very easily happened, and the girls played very good defense, which was important.”
An offensive highlight of the game came in the second inning when Ellie Kelcy and Sarah Sharp hit back-to-back solo home runs. Sarah Tannenbaum’s two-run triple ignited a three-run fifth. She also had a pair of sacrifice flies, finishing with a team-high four RBIs.
Kelcy finished the day 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Sharp was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Tannenbaum was 1-for-2 with four RBIs and two runs scored, and Sarah Dennin was 2-for-3 on the day.
Upper Dublin (4-5, 3-4 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Friday in a make-up game from April 7. Cheltenham (4-9, 2-6) will travel to Springfield on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 433 13 14
Cheltenham 000 00 0
WILLIAM TENNENT 25, HARRY S TRUMAN 15 (5 innings)
Two days after falling to Council Rock North 1-0, the Panthers found themselves in a contest that saw the two teams combine for 40 runs. A good part of the blame for this one goes to the weather.
“I’ll give credit to both teams,” Tennent coach Biz Keeny said. “It was just tough today.
“Both pitchers – you feel badly for them only because every ball had to be dried off, and the game really had no real flow to it. Towards the end, the pitchers couldn’t grip the ball. We battled and we were able to have enough success.”
The contest featured five home runs – two by Truman’s Mary Cairns and one each by Brianna Koonce, Jackie Heim and Lauren Brancato
Heim’s five-hit performance led the Panthers while Koonce added four hits. Maddie Tryon, Kalisi Taufalele and Caitlyn Mitrose each had three hits, and Jocelyn Flores and Emily Curtis both chipped in two hits.
William Tennent (8-5, 6-3 SOL) will be on the road at Conwell Egan for a non-league game on Monday, and Harry S Truman (3-10, 2-7) will host Central Bucks West in a non-league contest Monday.
William Tennent 209 68 25
Harry S Truman 231 36 15
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