CR North and Hatboro-Horsham were winners in SOL softball action Tuesday. CR North/CR South photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of phtos.
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 5, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2
The Indians made it a sweep of their neighboring rival, defeating the Golden Hawks for the second time this season.
“I am extremely proud of our girls for how they played today,” Rock North coach Susan Yee said. “They played good fundamental softball and I think that made all the difference for us. 
“South did a great job of making our defense work, finding holes to put the ball into to the tune of 10 hits, but our girls battled and did what they had to do to keep those runners from crossing the plate. Things didn’t always go right, but the girls did a good job of staying mentally tough and disciplined. They didn’t let anything snowball, and Kat Hastings was just fantastic in the circle digging deep and coming up with strikeouts every time we really needed one.”
The Golden Hawks held a 10-5 advantage in hits, but the Indians had the edge the only place that mattered – the scoreboard.
“Offensively, our girls played very smart team ball in order to push every run across that we could,” Yee said. “The girls put the ball in play and made their defense get 20 of the 21 outs.”
The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first without collecting a hit. Leadoff batter Emma Zoldi was hit by a pitch and stole second. She moved up to third on Taylor Gearhart’s sacrifice bunt and scored when freshman Molly Sheehy hit behind the runner for an RBI groundout to the right side.
In the bottom of the inning, South loaded the bases with three consecutive two-out singles, but pitcher Kat Hastings ended that threat with her first of nine strikeouts on the day.
In the top of the third, Jayme Bordner battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a leadoff walk. With two outs, Gearhart once again hit the ball to the right side, scoring Bordner from second when the throw from the outfield went to second base.
“We moved runners, and the girls put the ball where it needed to be put – based on the situation – in order to manufacture runs. South’s pitcher did a great job of keeping our hitters off balance all day and letting her defense work for her, and I think the outcome would have been tremendously different if our girls hadn’t done such a good job of situational offense and working together to manufacture the runs.”
South threatened again in the bottom of the fourth. After Hastings retired the first two batters on strikeouts, the Golden Hawks hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners,
“Emma Zoldi made a fantastic diving stop behind the second base bag on the second of the two hits, forcing the lead runner to hold at third and saving our team a run,” Yee said. “With two outs, Hastings ended the threat with her third strikeout of the inning.”
The Indians put three runs on the board in the top of the fifth. Senior Gabby Cohen singled up the middle to lead off the inning and Bordner drew her second walk of the game. With one out, Zoldi singled to center to load the bases, setting the stage for Gearhart’s sacrifice fly to deep center field.
An intentional walk to Sheehy loaded the bases.
“Kat Hastings stepped to the plate and helped her own cause with a hard grounder into the 5-6 hole,” Yee said. “Kaylie Walters made a tremendous effort, getting dirty to stop the ball, but the third baseman was not able to hold onto the ball, and she Emma Zoldi and the ball all got to the bag simultaneously, which allowed another run to cross the plate.
“Sophia Shields then stepped up and drove a hard single into the 5-6 hole to score Zoldi. Kaylie Walters once again made a great play, getting dirty to knock the ball down. She was able to gun down Sheehy – who attempted to score from second while Walters was on the ground to collect the ball – at home to end the inning.”
South answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. That would be the extent of the scoring for both squads with Hastings collecting a strikeout for the final out of the game.
Hastings allowed 10 hits and two runs (one earned) in the complete game win. She struck out nine and did not walk a batter.
“Kat Hastings came up big for us in the circle today,” Yee said. “Regardless of the situation or how many runners were on, she pounded the zone and made batters miss.
“She was especially clutch in keeping South’s leadoff batter off the bases for the majority of the game. Kaylie Walters is such a tremendous athlete and table setter. When she gets on base, it is hard to keep her from scoring, so Kat pitching as well as she did to her in particular was huge for us.
“Additionally, our catcher Molly Sheehy deserves a lot of credit. Coming in as a freshman, she has done a great job handling Kat, and our senior-freshman duo has really gelled well together. In the bottom of the seventh, with a runner on third and the cleanup batter at the plate, Kat had a big smile on her face before she fired in strike three to end the game. You can just see how loose she is throwing to Molly, and they have really become a fun battery to watch work together.”
Gearhart was 1-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly and two RBIs. Bordner was 1-for-1 with two walks and two runs scored.
“Freshman Taylor Gearhart played like a seasoned veteran at the plate today doing exactly what was needed in each situation she was up,” Yee said. “In four plate appearances: (1) she sacrificed a runner to third that wouldn’t have scored if she hadn’t moved her there, (2) she hit an RBI line drive to the outfield, and (3) she drove the ball deep in the outfield for a sacrifice fly to score another runner. She also came up big defensively today, snagging some key pop ups in foul territory along the fence line to keep some of South’s speediest runners off the base paths. Taylor has been working really hard to step up and contribute as a freshman and deserves a ton of credit. She is definitely going to be a player to watch over the next four years.
“Junior Jayme Bordner made herself an impossible out today. In all three of her plate appearances she got into an 0-2 hole, but she stayed focused and reached base all three times today, drawing two walks and hitting a line-drive single to center field. Those at bats were absolutely clutch, as they allowed her to score almost half (2 out of 5) of our runs.”
The Indians’ coach also had high praise for her shortstop.
“Emma Zoldi worked her way on base out out of her 4 plate appearances and ran fantastically in order to score two of our five runs,” Yee said. “She also played very well at shortstop including making a diving play up the middle to save a run from scoring.
“It was a typical ‘North – South’ grudge match of a game. Both teams knew that at any moment either team could erupt, and even with three insurance runs, we knew this game wasn’t over until the final out was recorded.:
Council Rock North (7-9, 3-4 SOL) will host Bensalem on Wednesday, and Council Rock South (4-11, 0-6) will travel to Pennsbury on Wednesday.
Council Rock North 101 030 0 5-5-2
Council Rock South 000 020 0 2-10-1
Non-league
HATBORO-HORSHAM 16, LOWER MORELAND 0 (3 innings)
A 15-run Hatter outburst in the first inning put the game out of reach before the Lions ever stepped to the plate. The Hatters collected nine singles in the innings, but they also benefitted from some free passes and defensive miscues.
Marissa Rapino (2-for-2, RBI, 2 runs) and Kayla Tauber (2-for-3, 2 runs) were the lone Hatters with multiple hits. Kristen Myers, Abby Waeltz, Amya Lundy, Tess Kearney and Megan Mills each had a pair of RBIs.
Megan Mills threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out four and walking one. Sarah Needleman allowed one hit in a scoreless inning of relief. She struck out one.
Hatboro-Horsham (15-1, 7-0 SOL) will host Abington on Wednesday, and Lower Moreland (4-10, 4-3) will travel to Cheltenham on Wednesday.
Lower Moreland 000 0-2-4
Hatboro-Horsham 15 1 x 16-10-2
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