Check out the recaps for SOL softball teams in action Monday.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 0
Lexi Waring tossed a complete game gem for the Golden Hawks. The freshman hurler allowed just one hit while striking out 11 and walking three (one intentional).
“It was one of the most dominating performances I have seen of a pitcher,” Rock South coach Dan Schram said. “Her last two performances against Pennridge (in a 4-3 win) and today – she’s so competitive, and she’s coming into her own. She makes adjustments as the game goes on.
“Game to game – she goes home, she thinks about it, she works with her pitching coach. She’s just such a high character kid who just battles to the very last pitch.”
The Golden Hawks plated the game’s only run in the third inning. With one out, Devon Wach drew a walk, and Waring followed with a single just over the right side of the infield. Kaylie Walters was safe on an error that allowed Wach to score from third base.
Waring had to work herself out of a jam in the sixth inning. With one out, Suzie Williams was hit by a pitch.
“Suzie Williams and Kaylie Walters had a heck of a battle going on because they play on the same travel team, and they’re both lightning fast,” Schram said. “Williams had two stolen bases today, and Kaylie had two stolen bases also.”
CJ Haney followed Williams and drew a walk. Both runners advanced on a short-to-first groundout.
“Coming up in the cleanup spot with two outs, we have Marlena Hacker,” Schram said. “She is a Bensalem girl, and the season that got shut down in 2020, she was on paper to play third base for us and is a very dangerous hitter, so we intentionally walked her to load the bases.
“You look at that situation, and with the bases loaded, Lex strikes the next girl out to get us out of the jam.”
Waring retired the Titans in order in the seventh, and the shutout win was in the books.
“It was like a playoff game,” Schram said. “These kids are learning how to win. They are humble, and they are hungry, and they respect the uniforms they wear, and I’m having just a great time coaching them, I really am.”
Maddy Borowoski turned a gem of her own for the Titans, allowing just two hits and one run (unearned) while striking out eight. Walters – who legged out a bunt – accounted for Rock South’s second hit.
“Maddy Borowski pitched an excellent game, but fortunately, we were just a little bit better,” Schram said.
Council Rock South (6-4, 4-3 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Wednesday, and Central Bucks South (4-8, 3-7) will host Souderton on Wednesday.
Central Bucks South 000 000 0 0-1-1
Council Rock South 001 000 x 1-2-0
BENSALEM 2, SOUDERTON 1
Bensalem picked up a huge win at Souderton in a classic pitcher’s duel.
“I feel like I’ve said this before, but it was the best game of softball I’ve seen these girls play,” Bensalem coach Erin Smith said. “It was a true selfless game. It was a pitcher’s duel for most of the game.”
“Meg Klein and Ayva Knowles led off the game with singles, and we thought we could strike early, but Souderton’s second baseman made a great grab on a line drive by Angelina Sponheimer and doubled off a runner, ending the threat.”
The Indians had a pair of baserunners in the second inning. Megan Kummery drew a leadoff walk, and two outs later, Kendell Clemmer singled to center, but Maggie Formichelli coaxed a ground ball to short for the inning’s final out.
“It was really a pitcher’s duel the next few innings,” Smith said. “In the fourth inning, Maggie (Formichelli) was struggling with her landing foot in the soft dirt, and Souderton was able to capitalize.”
Abby Burns drew a leadoff walk and was replaced by courtesy runner Olivia Plinke, who stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Plinke scored on Taylor Nelson’s suicide squeeze bunt, giving the Indians an early 1-0 lead.
“We were hitting the ball hard but just right at players,” Smith said. “Our nine hole hitter, Kayla Clarkson, is the perfect example of a second leadoff. She went down 0-for-2 but then fouled off some pitches and battled a walk to start the sixth inning.”
Clarkson moved up to second on Klein’s sacrifice, and then Knowles hit a double to put runners on second and third with one out.
“Maggie Formichelli is one of the hottest hitters in our lineup but laid a down a perfect squeeze to score Clarkson to even the score,” Smith said. “Lina Sponheimer is our four hole hitter and leader in RBIs, and she laid down a bunt to load the bases. Camryn Pickering then kept her hot streak alive and ripped a sac fly to give us the go-ahead run.”
In the bottom of the sixth, Lilly Ponce collected a one-out single, but Adrianna Vargas turned a fly ball into a double play, ending that potential threat.
Ashlyn Merz led off the seventh with a single, and Clarkson hit a two-out single, but the Owls couldn’t push another run across.
In the bottom of the seventh, Formichelli induced a ground ball back to the mound to start the inning, Knowles snagged a line drive to center for the second out, and Formichelli put an exclamation point on the win by striking out the next batter to close out the game.
“This was huge win for our team,” Smith said. “Souderton is a really good team with great hitters. Maggie was pitching on another level today. She was throwing harder than usual and really moving the ball.”
Formichelli allowed just three hits in the complete game win, striking out eight and walking four.
Offensively, Knowles was 3-for-3 with two singles and a double. Formichelli and Pickering had RBIs.
For the Indians, Ponce was 2-for-3.
Burns pitched well enough to win most days but absorbed the loss, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out eight and walking one.
Bensalem (9-5, 7-4 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Wednesday, and Souderton (8-5, 5-5) will be on the road at Central Bucks South.
Bensalem 000 002 0 2-5-0
Souderton 000 100 0 1-3-1
PENNRIDGE 10, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 6
The Rams found themselves making a road trip Rock North to play a ‘home’ game since their field was unplayable because of Sunday night’s rain. They made the trip well worth their while, erupting for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to break a 1-1 tie, and although the Indians battled gamely, they would get no closer than four the rest of the way.
The Rams took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Ryleigh Lilly, who singled and stole second, scored on a single to right field by Sam Linck. The Indians evened the score in the top of the fourth. Sierra Klein singled to left to lead off the frame, and Molly Sheehy was safe on an error. Two outs later, Klein scored on a Rock North miscue.
That 1-1 score stood until the fourth when Lilly opened the inning by ripping a triple to right field. She scored when Olivia Crognale followed with a single to left. Linck was hit by a pitch, and Sophia Vargo followed with a single that loaded the bases for Catelyn Thrush, who hit a sacrifice fly to center field. A walk to Katie Buccafuri loaded the bases for Reagan Bauman, who delivered an RBI single. Averi Dockery’s single plated another run, and the Rams scored a pair when Ashleigh Kenworthy lined a single to right field. Lilly – in her second at-bat of the inning – hit an RBI single, and the Rams led 8-1.
In the top of the fifth, Sarah Teitelman was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and two outs later, Emma Zoldi grounded a single to center. Klein was safe on an error, and the bases were loaded for the Indians. Molly Sheehy drew an RBI walk, and Sofia Shields singled to center, plating a pair and pulling the Indians within 8-4.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Rams added a pair to go on top 10-4 before the Indians scored two runs in the top of the sixth for the 10-6 final.
For the Rams, Dockery was a perfect 4-for-4 with a run scored and one RBI. Bauman was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs, and Lilly was also 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs and one RBI. Also collecting multiple hits were Thrush (2-for-3, run, RBI), Crognale (2-for-4, run, RBI) and Vargo (2-for-3, run).
Zoldi’s 3-for-4 effort with one run scored and one RBI out of the leadoff spot led the Indians. Klein was 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Pennridge (6-7, 4-7 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Wednesday, and Council Rock North (0-10, 0-9) will be on the road at Villa Joseph Marie for a non-league game on Tuesday.
Council Rock North 000 132 0 6-6-0
Pennridge 010 720 x 10-18-4
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
HATBORO-HORSHAM 7, WILLIAM TENNENT 0
Kendal Leitner tossed a complete game no-hitter, striking out 15. Although she walked seven, the Panthers never really threatened. They put a pair on board with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but Leitner struck out the next two batters she faced to end that threat. It was the only inning the Panthers had more than one runner aboard.
“Kendal had some walks, but she gave up no hits in seven innings – I’m obviously proud of that accomplishment,” HH coach Kelly Krier said. “Tennent put the ball in play, and defensively, I think it was our smoothest game. Our right side of the field combined with Kendal – Maddie Karpovich at first and Alyssa Tooley at second – made some really good plays on some of their short game hits. They tried to move runners, and they did really well there, and Kendal made a couple of outstanding defensive plays on the mound. She was really agile today.
“It was great because Kendal was a huge presence defensively when they were hitting, but when they did get runners on or tried to get hits, our defense stepped up and did a great job.”
The Hatters put an unearned run on the board in the top of the first and added three more in the third inning. Tooley was safe on an error to lead off the inning, and Marissa Rapino followed with a single. After a fielder’s choice, Amya Lundy lined an RBI single to center, and Tess Kearney plated a pair with a line single to center, and the Hatters led 4-0.
Leitner, Lundy and Abby Waeltz opened the fifth inning with back-to-back-to-back singles. Waeltz’s line drive single to right field scored two runs. A groundout by Karpovich pushed a run across, and the Hatters had their final margin of victory.
“Offensively what was very encouraging – especially going into the tail end of our season – was that we scored when we had runners in scoring position and made sure we finished that out,” Krier said. “We didn’t leave many runners stranded.
“We had productivity up and down the lineup. Tess Kearney, for example, has been doing really well when runners have been on when she gets up, so she continued that today. Abby Waeltz had a really impactful two-RBI hit. Amya Lundy came up big with a sac fly in the first inning to get us on the board. We ran the bases well, we took advantage of the opportunities that we had. We put the ball in play. It was just an all-around really strong performance.
“All the coaches recognized that and let the girls know at the end of the game -it was a good sign. We’ll hopefully continue it. We head back into division play against Wissahickon on Wednesday, and we know it’s going to be a tough run. We have really competitive teams, and we’re excited to get back in our division and see how we’ve grown from the last time we played them.”
Lundy (2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) and Kearney (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) led the Hatters’ eight-hit attack.
“I was very happy that we were able to get our game in,” Krier said. “William Tennent did a really nice job. It was their senior recognition game, so I think their ground crew stepped it up. Their field looked great, and we got to play. It wasn’t hundred-mile-an-hour winds and 30 degrees. It was just about perfect.”
Hatboro-Horsham (10-3, 10-1 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon on Wednesday, and William Tennent (7-4, 6-3) will travel to Cheltenham on Wednesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 103 030 0 7-8-0
William Tennent 000 000 0 0-0-4
WISSAHICKON 11, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 1 (6 innings)
The Trojans’ bats – silent the first two innings – came alive in the third and fourth innings, exploding for nine runs in the two innings combined to erase a 1-0 Spartan lead on their way to the convincing win.
“Springfield’s pitcher did a real nice job keeping us off balance for the first two innings,” Wissahickon coach Mike Borkowski said. “She is a little wild in the zone, so it makes it difficult to select a pitch to hit. We really had to adjust and concentrate on hitting up the middle and not trying to pull her. We finally got straightened out in the bottom of the third.”
In the third, Luca Penna drew a walk, Danielle Ciliberto crushed a double to right center, and then Gracie Franczyk hit an opposite field two-run home run to left center. Emi Fox walked, stole second and scored on Emma Dutill’s single. Sienna Miller singled in the inning as well.
Emma Dutill entered the game in the fourth inning and tossed three shutout innings.
“Emma did a real nice job,” Borkowski said. “Because of the schedule and rainouts, etc., we haven’t used her that much.
“She’s going to be our number one pitcher next year, so we want to keep getting her some work. She’s a good pitcher.”
The Trojans added four more runs in the fourth inning. Danielle Ciliberto was safe on an error. Katelyn Fitzgerald reached base on a fielder’s choice, Franczyk walked and Fox followed with a two-run single. Dutill’s single brough Franczyk home.
Armed with a 9-1 lead, the Trojans were hoping to score two more runs in the fifth to close out the game. It was not to be. In the sixth inning, Dutill shut down Springfield’s offense with two strikeouts.
In the bottom of the sixth, Emi Fox singled, Maren Carter dropped a nice bunt, and freshman Morgan Risnychok hit a shot to right field that scored Fox and Carter to end the game.
“Morgan has really been playing well for us,” Borkowski said. “As a freshman, sometimes you are nervous. She was a little nervous her first few games but has really played well for us. Morgan has a tremendous upside to her game. She’s going to be a stud player for us in the future.
“(Tuesday) we will play Quakertown. I’m hoping that by having to stay disciplined against their pitcher it keeps us going for Quakertown.”
Fox (3-for-3, 3 runs, 2 RBIs) and Risnychok (3-for-4, 2B, 4 RBIs) led the Trojans. Dutill was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. Also contributing were Ciliberto (1-for-4, 2B, 2 runs), Penna (1-for-2, run, 2 BB) and Siena Miller (1-for-2, RBI, BB).
Ciliberto notched the win, allowing two hits and one run (unearned) in three innings while striking out seven and walking none. Dutill did not allow a hit in three shutout innings, striking out five and walking none.
Wissahickon (10-3, 9-1 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday, and Springfield Township (1-9, 1-8) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Wednesday.
Springfield Twp 001 000 1
Wissahickon 005 402 11
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 12, LOWER MORELAND 2 (6 innings)
The Colonials pounded out 12 hits and seized early control of Monday’s crossover game, putting five runs on the board in the first inning on their way to the decisive win.
“The bats stayed hot today,” PW coach Mike Perez said. “After a heavy stretch of games last week and four more this week, it was nice to be able to get a lead early and get some of our starters some much needed rest.”
The Colonials were led by the freshman duo of Kalina Childers (3-for-4, 3 3B, 3 R, 3 RBIs) and Rian Reed (2-for-2, 2R, 2 BB) along with sophomore Sam Skivo (2-for-2, 3 RBIs).
In the five-run first, the Colonials staged a two-out rally. Reed and Haylie Lindley collected back-to-back singles, and Julie Price was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Marissa Perez drew a walk that pushed a run across, and a costly LM error allowed PW to score a pair of runs. Sam Skivo’s double to center plated a pair, and the Colonials led 5-0.
PW added a run in the second when Molly Moore – who tripled to left to lead off the inning – scored on Lauryn Kane’s groundout.
Lower Moreland got on the scoreboard when Liz Neeld hit an inside-the-park home run, but the Colonials answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning when Childers, who tripled to right field, scored on Skivo’s second double of the game to give the Colonials a 7-1 lead.
The Colonials added two runs in the third and three more in the sixth to bring an early end to the game.
Also for the Colonials, Madison Moran was 1-for-2 with two runs scored, and Jenna Yablon was 1-for-2 with one RBI.
Neeld’s 3-for-4 effort with a home run, run scored and one RBI led the Lions. Clare O’Donnell was 2-for-3. Emma Kolesnik had a double.
Three pitchers saw action for the Colonials. Moore allow one hit in two scoreless innings to open the game. She fanned four. Carney threw the next two innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out two and walking one. Moran also threw two innings, allowing five hits and one run while fanning three.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-3, 9-2 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Wednesday, and Lower Moreland (6-6, 3-6) will travel to Abington on Tuesday.
Lower Moreland 001 010 2-8-3
Plymouth Whitemarsh 511 203 12-12-2
QUAKERTOWN 16, CHELTENHAM 0 (3 innings)
Quakertown put 12 runs on the board in the bottom of the first on its way to a mercy rule win in the abbreviated contest. Syd Andrews and Abbey Wagner combined on a three-inning no-hitter. Andrews struck out the side in the first, and Wagner fanned four in two perfect innings.
In the first, the host Panthers received two singles from Katie Muller with an RBI on the first and one each from Emma Hilton (RBI) and Ava Beal (2 RBIs). Syd Andrews (RBI) and Maya Hellyer (2 RBIs) both delivered doubles, and Hilton also had a sacrifice fly in the frame that also included four walks.
Muller was the lone player with multiple hits in a game that saw 18 players get at-bats, finishing 2-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Quakertown (10-1, 9-1 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon on Tuesday, and Cheltenham (0-9) will host William Tennent on Wednesday.
Cheltenham 000 0-0-5
Quakertown 12 4 x 16-9-0
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