PHILADELPHIA – If it’s fantastic finishes you like, the Suburban One American-Continental Conference’s opening round Carpenter Cup game against Delaware North certainly fit the bill.
The SOL needed a heroic two-out single in the seventh inning by North Penn’s Christie Mallozzi to knot the score 1-1 and send the game into extra innings.
Then it was North Penn’s Miranda Sergas stepping into the hero’s role when she blasted a shot off the top of the outfield fence that emptied the bases and propelled the SOL to a dramatic 5-2 win.
“That was amazing,” Upper Dublin’s Amy McCaffrey said of the three-run double by Sergas. “It hit the top of the fence and bounced back in.
“We all came together at the end of the first game.”
If the SOL was hoping to carry that momentum into its second game of the day on Thursday at FDR Park, that didn’t happen. The SOL managed just two hits and fell to Berks County 4-0 for its first loss of the double elimination tournament.
A two-hour break between games on a steamy, hot day may have had something to do with the loss of momentum.
“If we had played back-to-back, I think it definitely would have carried into the second game, and that would have been awesome,” Sergas said.
As it was, the SOL never could find its offensive stride, and scoring opportunities were few and far between.
The SOL’s best chance of getting on the board came in the fourth inning when North Penn’s Kellianna Bradstreet roped a one-out single to deep left. A walk to Devlin – who drew a 13-pitch base on balls earlier in the game – put a pair of runners on board for North Penn’s top hitter this spring, Alyssa Campbell.
The hard-hitting junior hit a screaming line drive up the middle that was snagged by the second baseman, who turned it into an inning-ending double play.
With one out in the sixth, North Penn’s Mary Ward laid a bunt single down the third base line. One out later, she stole second but was stranded there.
Berks County won it with a four-run uprising in the bottom of the inning.
“They changed their pitchers multiple times, and then we changed our lineup, and people hadn’t seen that pitcher before,” Devlin said. “It was tough.”
Bradstreet worked four scoreless innings in the loss to Berks, allowing just one hit. Earlier in the day, she threw the first three innings against Delaware North, allowing three hits and one run (unearned) while striking out five. Central Bucks East’s Robyn Ziegler notched the win in the opener, allowing one hit and one run in four solid innings while fanning nine.
Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer dismissed the idea that her team might have suffered a letdown after its emotional win in Thursday’s opening round game.
“These girls are all passionate about softball,” she said. “Obviously, they enjoy it. They wouldn’t give up a week of their summer if they didn’t.
“Sometimes it’s a learning process. Even though we held some practices and workouts, it still takes some time to learn how to play together efficiently.”
The SOL squad - with five Maidens on its roster in Sergas, Mallozzi, Bradstreet, Campbell and Ward – has a decidedly North Penn flavor.
“People from the same school aren’t sticking together,” Devlin said. “There are a bunch of North Penn kids, but they’re including everybody.”
“Everyone gets along,” McCaffrey added. “It’s not cliquey like some travel teams. Everyone is getting along and playing together. It seems like everyone has played together for a while.”
Just as their counterparts on the SOL-BAL squad acknowledged earlier in the tournament, the SOL American-Continental players discovered that some of their initial impressions about league foes turned out to be false.
“Mary Ward was really intense when we played against them during the season, but she’s more chilled,” Devlin said. “In the games, she’s still intense, but off the field she’s not like that.”
The general consensus was that getting to know players from opposing teams was a highlight of the tournament.
“It’s just cool,” Devlin said. “When we play them next year – you’re still going to want to win, but you can be friends.”
For Boyer, working with the all-star squad has been an enjoyable experience.
“It’s really fun to work with a bunch of kids who really do enjoy the sport, want to play it well and want to play it correctly,” she said. “You get kids who want to be here and want to learn and become really good students of the game.
“It’s a nice bunch. There’s some good chemistry, some really good leaders –both vocal and just leading by example. There are some really great kids here.”
The SOL will return to action on Monday at 9 a.m. when it will face Mercer County, which fell to Olympic Colonial 8-5 in a second round game. Joining the all-star squad will be Norristown’s Gabrielle Berry and Maggie Creciun, who were competing in a showcase and missed Thursday’s games.
NOTES: A defensive highlight of game two included a throw from Plymouth Whitemarsh rightfielder Renee Stiteler to McCaffrey at home plate, nailing a runner attempting to score from second on a single to right. The defensive gem of the game came in the sixth when Sergas, who was playing center field, made a dazzling diving catch of a sinking line drive in right center.
GAME TWO: BERKS COUNTY 4, SOL AMERICAN-CONTINENTAL 0
SOL American-Continental: Miranda Sergas c/cf 3 0 0 0; Christie Mallozzi rf 2 0 0 0; Mary Ward 3b 1 0 1 0; Robyn Ziegler 1b/p/lf 3 0 0 0; Kellianna Bradstreet p 1 0 1 0; Samantha McDevitt 1b 1 0 0 0; Brittany Devlin 1b 1 0 0 0; Amy McCaffrey c 1 0 0 0; Elise DiFilippo ss 1 0 0 0; Alyssa Campbell ss 2 0 0 0; Sam haber 2b 0 0 0 0; Mia DiLella 2b 2 0 0 0; Kellie O’Donnell lf 1 0 0 0; Maddie Denneny rf/p 1 0 0 0; Shari Lynne Kluth cf 1 0 0 0; Renee Stiteler lf/rf 1 0 0 0. TOTALS 21 0 2 0.
Berks County: Kalia Balatgek ss 2 0 0 0; Mya Lobb ss 1 0 0 0; Marisol Recio 2b 3 1 1 0; Jess Epler p 2 1 1 0; Carissa Harris p 0 0 0 0; Megan Greiss 3b 1 0 0 0; Steph Graver 3b 2 1 1 0; Jenn Dalikis cf 3 1 1 3; Allie Hartman 1b 1 0 0 1; Samantha Denlinger 1b/p 2 0 1 0; Leigh Miller lf 1 0 0 0; Mallory Sassaman lf 1 0 0 0; Aimee Rosenbaum c 1 0 1 0; Rachel Trupp 2 0 2 0; Emily DeJesus rf 1 0 0 0; Kaitlyn McGinnis rf 1 0 0 0. TOTALS 24 4 8 4.
SOL American-Continental 000 000 0-0
Berks County 000 004 x-4
E-Berks 0, SOL 0. DP-Berks 1. LOB-SOL 4, Berks 4. 2B-Bradstreet, Rosenbaum. 3B-Dalikis. SB-Epler, Trupp, Ward. SAC-Sassaman.
IP H R ER BB SO
SOL AMERICAN-CONTINENTAL
Bradstreet 4 1 0 0 1 3
Ziegler (L) 2 7 4 4 0 0
BERKS
Epler (W) 4 1/3 0 0 0 1 6
Harris 2 2/3 2 0 0 1 1
GAME ONE (Partial boxscore): SOL AMERICAN-CONTINENTAL 5, DELAWARE NORTH 2 (8 innings)
SOL American-Continental: Mary Ward 3b 3 1 1 0; Shari Lynne Kluth cf 2 0 0 0; Miranda Sergas cf 2 1 2 3; Amy McCaffrey c/ss/1b 3 1 1 0; Alyssa Campbell 2b/ss 3 0 0 1; Samantha McDevitt 1b 1 0 0 0; Kellianna Bradstreet p 2 0 1 0; Robyn Ziegler p 2 0 1 0; Mia DiLella lf 1 0 0 0; Brittany Devlin c 3 0 0 0; Elise DiFilippo 1 0 0 0; Christie Mallozzi rf 2 0 1 1; Maddie Denneny 1b 1 0 0 0; Sam Haber 2b 2 1 0 0; Renee Stiteler rf/lf 2 1 1 0; Kellie O’Donnell lf 1 0 0 0. TOTALS 31 5 8 5
SOL American-Continental 000 000 14-5
Delaware North 000 100 01-2
2B-Bradstreet, Sergas
IP H R ER BB SO
SOL American-Continental
Bradstreet 4 2 1 0 1 5
Ziegler (W) 4 1 1 1 2 9
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