Let the fun begin.
The SOL season officially opened last week, and already several squads have established themselves as the teams to beat.
Besides the obvious favorites – Central Bucks South, Pennsbury and Neshaminy, Hatboro Horsham – behind the dazzling performances of unflappable sophomore pitcher Maggie Shaffer – has come out of the gate on fire.
The Hatters are 4-0 with Shaffer allowing a grand total of eight hits in those four games combined! Oh, and for good measure, she has fanned 42 in 28 innings of work in wins over Lansdale Catholic (2-0), Souderton (6-0), North Penn (8-0) and Harry S. Truman (4-0).
As an added bonus, Shaffer got her driver's license last week!
Things should get real interesting when the Hatters – two years removed from a state title – take on a Central Bucks South squad that returns the nucleus of last year’s district runner-up and state Final Four squad.
Check the www.SuburbanOneSports.com for a complete recap of that early season SOL showdown.
National Conference
Kathleen Houser has a luxury few coaches at any level can boast. The Neshaminy coach has an abundance of pitching, outstanding pitching.
Through three games, Houser has started three different pitchers – Brianna Guidos (a starter at first when she’s not on the mound), Samantha Bender (a part-time outfielder) and mound ace Sarah McGowan.
No matter who Houser has sent out there, the results have been the same – all three have tossed shutouts in wins over Council Rock North (3-0), Abington (6-0) and Central Bucks South (9-0).
“All of them have speed and movement, and any one of them could be my starting pitcher at any given time – they’re that good,” Houser said. “That really does help us.”
But that’s not all.
Laura Altenburger, who is starting in left field, is a transfer from St. Hubert’s who also can pitch if called upon, and in addition, Houser has four pitchers at the jayvee level.
“We’ve had a lot of good problems coming into the season with that being one of them,” the Redskins’ coach said of her team’s pitching depth. “The competition on our team – we have nine seniors, and competition drives our team.
“The problem is making up a lineup on a daily basis. We’re playing the best nine or 10 kids, and that’s what drives us. We’re constantly trying to challenge them.”
And exactly how does Houser figure out who she’s going to put on the mound?
“It depends on the schedule,” she said. “Sarah’s our dominant pitcher right now.”
Offensively, the Redskins are getting contributions up and down their lineup. Alexa Bell hit a home run in the Redskins’ win over Rock North. Kelsey Ryan, Erin Quense and Samantha Creamer have all been coming up big. In Neshaminy’s win over Rock South, all nine starters reach base.
Although it’s early, real early, Neshaminy has the look and feel of a team that could make some serious noise this season.
Continental Conference
It’s no secret that Central Bucks South came into the 2010 season with a bull’s eye painted squarely on its back. It’s the kind of thing that happens when a squad returns the majority of its lineup from a team that was the district runner-up and advanced to the state semifinals last season.
“We’re always going to have the pressure on us coming off a season like last year,” South senior Shana Steigerwalt said.
That’s just fine with the Titans, who believe they have found their stride after suffering a 3-2 loss to Council Rock North in their season opener. They responded to that setback with decisive wins over Quakertown (12-0), Pennridge (10-0) and Wissahickon (15-0).
If you haven’t done the math, the Titans have outscored their opponents 37-0 since that loss, and according to Steigerwalt, that early-season defeat may have been beneficial.
“We know what our mistakes were in that game, and we’ve improved upon them,” the senior outfielder said. “Just having that loss early in the season – it wasn’t a league game, so that was good. We’re the team to watch out for, and that was a wake-up call for us. We have to come out strong. We can’t look down on any team. We just have to come out our hardest every game.”
The Titans have had double-digit hits in each of their four games, and in Monday’s 15-0 romp over Wissahickon, 10 different players contributed hits, led by the two-hit effort of Haileigh Stocks. Morgan Decker contributed a triple and two RBIs.
Haileigh Stocks upped her record to 2-0 on the young season, striking out nine and walking three while allowing no hits in the abbreviated four-inning contest.
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Quakertown – under first-year coach Cari Matthaei – notched a big win on Monday, downing Central Bucks West 4-3, and the Panthers did it with youth.
Freshman Jess Wheelin delivered a two-run triple to knot the score 2-2 in the top of the fifth. One inning later, freshman Emily Reis singled, and she scored when freshman Jess Cramp delivered a one-out triple.
Junior third baseman Steph Zischang also tripled in the seventh, but the Panthers could not capitalize. Quakertown’s defense came up big in both the sixth and seventh innings as the Bucks had runners on board in both innings.
Junior hurler Justyna Pepkowski notched the huge win. Matthaei credited Zischang (third base) as well as freshman shortstop Meghan Lopes for delivering big plays in the field to help the Panthers come away with the win.
***
Also under the category of impressive wins, Central Bucks East – behind the five-hit effort of Robyn Zeigler – notched a 2-0 win in eight innings over Pennridge on Tuesday. The senior hurler struck out nine and walked three.
Allie Chase reached base on an error to open the eighth for the Patriots, and Brittany Devlin delivered a line drive down the right field line for a triple that plated Chase. Jess Haug kept the inning alive with an RBI single up the middle, giving the Patriots a 2-0 lead.
Alicia Detweiler led Pennridge with a pair of hits. Paige Decew absorbed the loss, striking out seven and walking just one while allowing 10 hits.
American Conference
John Kandrick likes the make-up of his squad this season, and what’s not to like.
The Eagles are off to a 4-0 start after notching back-to-back wins this week. On Monday, the Eagles scored three runs in the first and never looked back on their way to a 9-3 win over visiting Upper Merion.
One day later, the Eagles downed Springfield 15-5 in a game that was halted in the sixth when the mercy rule went into effect.
The second-year coach credits his three captains – Daisy Foster, Maggie Creciun and Shari Lynne Kluth – for setting the tone for this year’s squad.
“They have done a really good job of leading the team and of keeping everyone on their toes but at the same time keeping everybody loose and having fun,” Kandrick said. “One very, very important key to this team is they need to be loose, and they need to have fun. They need to joke around.
“We have a lot of little clowns on the team who like to joke around and have fun. When we have fun and we play loose, we tend to play our best ball. We’ve always referred to it as playing ‘Norristown softball’ – play good defense, hit the (heck) out of the ball and have fun.”
Freshman Taylor Copestick has stepped in behind the plate to fill the shoes of all-league catcher Kim Detweiler.
“She has done a very good job of not only catching a senior pitcher, but she’s starting to take control of our infield too,” Kandrick said. “She’s speaking up more and getting comfortable playing Norristown softball.”
Gabbie Berry – a first team all-league selection last year - anchors the infield at the hot corner.
“She’s just a constant at third base,” Kandrick said. “When the ball is hit to Gabbie, rarely ever do I truly watch the play because I know she’s going to make a good play. She’s always there. She’s one of those clowns I talk about that loves to have fun, and she loves the game of softball.”
Devon King, according to Kandrick, has been rock solid at first base.
“Our infielders have not been easy on her, but she blocks each ball, scoops the ball off the ground,” Kandrick said. “The kid absolutely gives her all every single game. She did the same thing last year.
“Our infield is pretty solid. We have a chance of having an all-league infield this year, and that’s going to be important.”
Sophomore Gina Pellechio and junior Julia Santoro – both transfers from Kennedy Kenrick – have made immediate contributions.
“Gina is starting to bond with the girls,” Kandrick said. “She’s hitting more and doing well in the field. She’s talking more- she came in, and she was very, very quiet. Now she’s speaking up and joking around with the girls.
“Julia Santoro had a breakout game against Springfield.”
The Eagles’ designated player had a pair of hits, including a double in Tuesday’s win over the Spartans.
In their two wins combined this week, the Eagles pounded out a total of 28 hits.
Foster was the undisputed hero of Tuesday’s win over Springfield. At the plate, the Eagles’ senior pitcher had four hits, including a pair of doubles. She also tossed a complete game on the mound, striking out five.
Pellechio and Sammy Kidd both had three hits while Santoro and Berry both had a pair of hits. Pellochio had a triple, and Santoro, a double.
In Monday’s win over Upper Merion, Creciun led the Eagles with three hits, including a double. Stephanie Dinolfi and Berry (double) had two hits each. Foster earned the win on the mound, striking out seven and allowing just four hits.
The Eagles will face Wissahickon on Thursday and defending conference champ Plymouth Whitemarsh on Monday.
“The girls are excited to get out with a couple of wins early,” Kandrick said. “Last year, we started out with two losses. The girls know what’s ahead, and they know we have some good non-league games on our schedule, and we have Wissahickon on Thursday and PW on Monday. Those are big games.”
SuburbanOneSports.com’s Fab Five
- Hatboro-Horsham (4-0) (It’s hard to dispute the dominance of a team whose pitcher has allowed just eight hits while fanning 42 in 28 innings of work)
- Neshaminy (3-0) (The Redskins have three shutouts in as many game with three different pitchers earning wins.)
- Central Bucks South (3-1) (Although they dropped their first game of the season, the Titans are still the team to beat in the area until proven otherwise.)
- Pennsbury (3-0) (The Falcons have not been tested yet, but they are always in the hunt, and this year doesn’t figure to be any different.)
- North Penn (2-1) (It’s hard to penalize the Maidens for a loss to a Hatboro team that is on a tear.)
Under consideration: Norristown (4-0) (The Eagles are off to a 4-0 start out of the gate, which includes a non-league win over Truman), Souderton (3-1) (The Indians were victimized by Hatboro hurler Maggie Shaffer, but who hasn’t been so far this season?) Central Bucks East (3-1) (The Patriots notched a nice win over Pennridge in eight innings.)
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