Check out the results for SOL softball teams in action Thursday. Photos of the Truman/Bensalem and Neshaminy/Pennsbury game are courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Photos of the Upper Moreland/Cheltenham game are provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for galleries of the Truman/Bensalem and Upper Moreland/Cheltenham games.
National Conference
HARRY S TRUMAN 12, BENSALEM 0
Coach Kyle Hoffman had a simple explanation for her team’s inspired performance in Thursday’s mercy rule win over the Owls.
“They figured out how to play together,” the Truman coach said. “We’re good when we can play a full seven innings and play both sides of the field.
“This is huge. They know that they’re good, but we weren’t connecting. We finally connected hits together. We had people on base every single inning. That’s the first time we’ve done that all season. Getting this win and seeing what they can do and being confident now – I think it will help a lot.”
The Tigers and Owls exchanged two-run bursts in the first inning, but while the Owls’ bats went silent the rest of the way, the Tigers’ did not as they erupted for five runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to bring an early end to the game.
All told, the Tigers pounded out 13 hits. Kelsey Hackbert – who doubled, was hit by a pitch and was safe on an error – was on base three out of four trips to the plate and scored three runs. Maria Dea’s two run home run highlighted the five-run fourth. She also had a double and finished the game 3-for-4.
Olivia Lavertu followed Dea’s lead and hit a two-run home in the five-run fifth. Lavertu, who was sidelined all last season with a concussion, also had a double and finished with a pair of hits.
Vanessa Tantini added a pair of hits – including a double – and scored two runs. Jewell Cook also had two hits, 
including a double, and reached base on all three trips to the plate. Heather Leo also was 2-for-3.
“Everybody decided to hit today,” Hoffman said.
Dea also earned the win in the circle, allowing just four hits and two runs – both in the first inning.
“She was wild in the beginning, and we played one of our typical innings in the first,” Hoffman said. “We had two errors in the field, and they scored off both of our errors, and then everyone settled down.
“Once we got those two runs back, I think they realized, ‘Okay, we’re good, we’re in the game,’ and they just stayed with it.”
Take away the team’s 12-3 loss to William Tennent, and the Tigers have lost six games by an average of less than two runs a game.
“We’re in every game,” Hoffman said.
Harry S Truman (1-7, 1-4 SOL) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Tuesday, and Bensalem (3-5, 1-4) will host Central Bucks East on Monday in a non-league contest.
Bensalem 200 00 2
Harry S Truman 200 55 12
WILLIAM TENNENT 10, ABINGTON 0 (6 innings)
Kalisi Taufalele has tossed some gems in her career, including a five-inning perfect game last summer for her Sports Connection squad, but Thursday’s six-inning, one-hit shutout might well have topped that.
The senior pitcher had a perfect game through four innings, allowing only a one-out single in the fifth to Aubrey Cataldi. She fanned seven and walked none.
“Kalisi was the story of the game,” Tennent coach Biz Keeny said. “She was really good today.
“She was changing speeds. She really threw the ball well.”
So effective was Taufalele that she faced just 18 batters – the minimum number – in six innings. The Ghosts’ only base runner was erased on a double play line out to shortstop in the fifth. The Panthers played flawless defense behind their ace.
“She spotted her fastball well, threw her change-up well and kept them off balance,” Keeny said. “It was just kind of fun to call the game.
“She had pretty much command of all her pitches. She had a couple of different pitches going today. This was the best stuff she had all year.”
Kalisi had plenty of offensive supports. The Panthers plated five runs in the first and four more in the second, tacking on a single run in the sixth to bring an early end to the game.
In the first, the Panthers benefitted from three walks as well as an RBI single by Jackie Heim and a two-run single by Emily Curtis. The Panthers pounded out six hits and added four runs in the second to go on top 9-0 on their way to the big win.
Heim led the Panthers with three hits, including a double, and two RBIs. Marissa Govan had a pair of hits out of the leadoff spot, and Jocelyn Flores had two hits, including a double, and one RBI. Freshman Caitlyn Mitros also had two hits and one RBI. Curtis had two RBIs.
William Tennent (4-3, 3-2 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Tuesday, and Abington (2-3, 2-2) will host Upper Dublin on Friday.
Abington 000 000 0
William Tennent 540 001 10
NESHAMINY 5, PENNSBURY 1
The Falcons hung tough with a Redskin squad that has been rolling over its opponents, but the visiting ‘Skins took an early lead and never looked back on their way to their sixth win without a loss this season.
Sophomore Sarah Dowalo tossed a gem in the circle, and junior Rebecca Dixon delivered the game’s big blow – a two-run blast in the seventh that put the finishing touches on the important win in a battle of neighboring rivals.
The ‘Skins scored a pair of runs in the top of the first. After back-to-back one-out singles by Olivia Zaino and Sophie Beretski, Hunter Hart was safe on an error, loading the bases. Devan Masciulli delivered a two-run single, and the Redskins had a lead they would not lose. They added an unearned run in the third, and after the Falcons put a run on the board in the sixth to make it a 3-1 game – thanks to a solo home run by Bailee Zaccaro, Dixon delivered her clutch round tripper.
Dowalo allowed just four hits and one run in the complete game win, fanning five.
“She pitched incredibly well,” said coach Dave Chichilitti, going on to acknowledge the efforts of several players. “Alexis Watkins had two great catches in right field.
“Zacarro and (Alyssa) Hileman played really well for Pennsbury.”
Dixon had the only multi-hit day for the Skins, finishing 2-for-4 while Zaccaro accounted for two of her team’s four hits with a 2-for-3 effort.
Neshaminy (6-0, 4-0 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (1-5, 1-4) will be travelling to Robbinsville (N.J.) for a pair of tough games this weekend.
Neshaminy 201 000 2 5-5-1
Pennsbury 000 001 0 1-4-5
Continental Conference
QUAKERTOWN 2, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2
Alyssa Wilkinson has quietly strung together some impressive outings this week. The soft-spoken senior, according to her coach, might well have thrown her best game of the week in Monday’s 4-1 loss to North Penn that saw the Maidens score four unearned runs. A close second was Thursday’s five-hit shutout of a dangerous Patriot team that was 24 hours removed from putting 18 runs on the board in a rout of Central Bucks South.
Wilkinson’s glittering performance came just one day after her three-hit effort propelled the Panthers to a 4-2 win over Hatboro-Horsham.
What’s been the key?
“For me, champions win in the offseason,” Wilkinson said. “This last winter I worked so hard on all my movements – just movement of the ball and keeping the hitters guessing, and obviously, first-pitch strikes.”
Coach Rich Scott likes what he has seen from Wilkinson.
“She’s pitching like there’s no tomorrow,” he said. “She worked extremely hard in the offseason.
“She’s really hitting her spots, and all of her pitches are very good and moving. She’s fielding her position, she’s doing it all, and she came up with some key hits.”
The Panthers scored the only run Wilkinson would need in the bottom of the second. Meghan Klee and Wilkinson both singled, and Klee raced home on a dropped third strike.
In the third, Quakertown added an insurance run when Emma McLaughlin, who doubled to left field, scored on an error.
The Panthers had a pair of errors, but they more than made up for those miscues with several outstanding defensive plays.
“In the first inning, with a runner on second and two outs, Paige Mott made a diving catch in foul territory – she fell and held onto the ball,” Scott said. “We don’t know how she did it, but that was a big play.”
In the third inning, with the bases loaded and one out, Meghan Klee made a backhanded grab of a line drive by Audrey LaBouliere and doubled the base runner on third to end the inning.
“It was a rope,” Scott said. “It was a big, big play. That would have scored at least one, maybe two.
“I felt that this was going to be one of those one-run, two-run games. It was big to get on the board early. Our defense – sometimes they make bad plays, but they’ve been playing well of late.”
Wilkinson, meanwhile, tipped her hat to her teammates.
“It feels amazing to have my team be able to hit and help me out,” she said. “To me, it’s just the world because as the pitcher sometimes I do struggle.
“I got hit the first inning. My hand was in the (fence), and one of the batters hit my finger. I was really down, and everyone really helped so much.”
As for her team’s response to Monday’s loss to North Penn, Wilkinson had a ready explanation.
“We’re actually reading the book Mind Gym, and right now we’re focusing on the seven C’s,” she said. “On Tuesday at practice, we focused on confidence.
“(Coach) just told us we need to be confident, and ever since then, the energy has changed, and we’re so confident. If we strike out, we forget about it.”
As for her performance on Thursday, Wilkinson wasn’t ready to call it her best, but she did acknowledge it was the Panthers’ “best team outing.”
For the Patriots, Alyssa Catron led the way with a 2-for-3 effort.
Theresa Haug was charged with the loss, although she did not allow a run in four innings. Haug and Kayla Ventura combined for eight strikeouts and just one walk. Ventura closed it out with two scoreless innings,
Quakertown (6-2, 3-2 SOL) will be on the road at Freedom for a non-league contest Friday. Central Bucks East (4-2, 3-2) will host Pottsgrove on Saturday in a non-league game.
Central Bucks East 000 000 0 0-5-1
Quakertown 011 000 x 2-6-2
HATBORO-HORSHAM 7, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0
By Kyle Morhardt for Suburbanonesports.com
Hatboro-Horsham hosted league opponent Central Bucks West in a key conference game for both squads. The Hatters were looking to rebound from their loss the previous day at home to Quakertown, and they did just that, winning 7-0 and handing the Bucks their first loss of the season.
The Hatters got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run single from Kaeli Simmons. Hatboro-Horsham scored again in the bottom of the fifth, but this time in a three-run spurt that included an RBI single from Simmons, a sacrifice fly RBI from Bridgette Schaffer, as well as a score on a passed ball.
The Hatters wrapped up the game with a two-run single by Brynn Griffith in the bottom of the sixth.
Simmons stepped into the circle for the Hatters, pitching a complete game three-hit shutout that was complemented by an impressive eight-strikeout effort.
Angelina Sherba pitched a complete game for the Bucks, allowing 11 hits and finishing the day with two strikeouts of her own.
Hatboro-Horsham was led offensively by Kaeli Simmons, who was 2-for-2 with three RBIs, and Brynn Griffith, who was 3-for-3 with two RBIs of her own.
Hatboro-Horsham (6-3, 2-3 SOL) will travel to Pennridge for its next game on Tuesday. Central Bucks West (5-1, 3-1) will host Wissahickon in an out-of-league contest Friday.
Central Bucks West 000 000 0 0-3-1
Hatboro-Horsham 002 032 x 7-11-0
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3, SOUDERTON 1
What a difference a day makes.
Twenty-four hours after suffering an 18-0 loss to Central Bucks East, the Titans turned in an impressive performance against Souderton. The Titans set the tone with two runs in the top of the first and never trailed.
“It was good,” coach Dan Hayes said of getting on the board early. “We just haven’t been scoring at all – early, late or whenever, and to get two off the bat was big.
“Their pitcher (Alex Scheeler) can be pretty tough. She keeps you off balance with her change up. We played well – put the ball in play a good bit. It was a good win.”
In the first, Maddie Bieber drew a walk, and Taylor Marinelli singled. Both players scored when Meg Bradley roped her first of three doubles on the day.
The Indians cut that lead in half with a run in the third, but the Titans got that back in the sixth. Bradley got things started with a double and Alexis McConomy followed with a single, setting the stage for a perfectly-executed suicide squeeze by freshman Alexa Ortman that gave the Titans their final margin of victory.
“I said to the girls yesterday, ‘We’re lucky we can go out and try do something different today,’” Hayes said. “Fortunately, it ended up positive.”
McConomy earned the win for the Titans, allowing one run on four hits while fanning two and walking two.
“McConomy pitched a really good game,” Hayes said. “McConomy and Bradley both play for the same travel team, and I said to Meg Bradley, our catcher, ‘Who calls the pitches in travel?’
“She said, ‘I do.’ I said, ‘You’re calling them today’ because I usually call them. She called them today, and she called a great, great game. Alexis really did well.”
Bradley (3-for-4) and Ortman (2-for-3) led the Titans at the plate.
Central Bucks South (4-3, 2-3 SOL) will be on the road at Easton on Saturday for a non-league game (11 a.m.). Souderton (1-3, 1-3) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday.
Central Bucks South 200 001 0 3
Souderton 001 000 0 1
NORTH PENN 7, PENNRIDGE 1
Freshman Elia Namey turned in yet another impressive offensive performance for the Maidens, accounting for five runs in Thursday night’s win at Druckenmiller Park. The dangerous designated hitter was 2-for-3 with a double, home run, five RBIs and a run scored.
In North Penn’s four-run third, Namey delivered a two-run double, and Katie Beer added a two-run single. The Lady Rams got on the scoreboard with a single run in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Grace McGinley.
The Maidens iced the win in the fifth when Namey ripped a three-run home run to put the Maidens on top 7-1.
Beer had a big night of her own, finishing 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Namey and Beer accounted for five of the Maidens six hits. Melanie Lauro, who was 1-for-3, had the other hit as the bottom of the Maidens’ order had all of the squad’s hits.
Julia Helbling led the Lady Rams with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate.
Bri Battavio earned the win in the circle, scattering seven hits while allowing one run (unearned). She struck out two and walked one.
Meghan Bauer absorbed the loss for the Lady Rams. Kailyn Bell did not allow a hit in two scoreless innings in relief.
North Penn (4-1, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Monday, and Pennridge (4-3, 1-3) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
North Penn 004 030 0 7-6-3
Pennridge 001 000 0 1-7-2
American Conference
UPPER MORELAND 3, CHELTENHAM 2
Scott Ludlow called it a barnburner, and it certainly kept fans on the edge of their seats until the final out. Trailing by one, the Lady Panthers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh. A nifty pitcher-to-home-to-first double play brought a dramatic end to the contest as Brianna Byard fielded the ball and threw to catcher Chloe Tice, who tug the plate and fired to Maura Casey at first to complete the twin killing.
It was a real exciting game,” Ludlow said. “They really had a clean game.
“My number one pitcher (Amber O’Connor) was home with a stomach bug. I usually try to give Brianna Byard a couple days notice when she’s pitching. She found out in the middle of third period today when she found out Amber wasn’t here. It was kind of late notice, but she was tremendous on the mound today.”
Byard allowed seven hits and two runs in the complete game win, striking out five and walking two.
“She got a couple of big outs,” Ludlow said. “They stranded a runner on third in the first after they led the game off with a triple. She got two pop outs and a fly out, so she got out of a jam in the first. They had second and third with two outs in the sixth with two outs and the bases loaded with one out in the seventh.”
The Golden Bears – coming off their first loss of the season Wednesday against Springfield – opened up a 2-0 lead in the first. Maddie Mull led off the frame with a single and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt. A single by Allie Miller put a pair on board, and both scored when the throw to third on Alison Creighton’s RBI sacrifice fly to left sailed out of play.
Singles runs in the second and third by the Lady Panthers knotted the score. The Golden Bears won it with an unearned run in the fourth, an inning that began with Tice reaching base after she was hit by a pitch and included a Kim Benge single and an error.
Miller led the Bears with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate while the Lady Panthers were led by Madison Gianelle (2-for-3, one run) and Marissa Custer (2-for-4, one run).
Upper Moreland (5-1, 3-1 SOL) will be on the road at Norristown on Tuesday, and Cheltenham (2-5, 1-3) will host Academy Park on Monday.
Cheltenham 011 000 0 2-7-1
Upper Moreland 200 100 x 3-7-3
NORRISTOWN 6, WISSAHICKON 1
Trojan pitcher Halle Segal took a perfect game into the fifth inning, retiring 14 straight to open the game before Norristown’s Ashley Kinsey hit a two-out single. With the Trojans clinging to a 1-0 lead, the tide turned in the sixth inning.
Hannah Evanik was hit by a pitch to open the frame, and the Eagles had a pair on board after Hannah Griffin followed with a bunt single. Kathleen Watson’s double to left plated Evanik, and then it was Vanessa Limbert following with a two-run single that put the Eagles on top 3-1. By the time the inning was over, the Eagles had sent 12 batters to the plate, and they led 6-1.
Stephanie Orman retired the Trojans in order in the seventh, and the Eagles’ first conference win was in the books.
“It was a good game – we played really well defensively,” Norristown coach Don Berry said. “We’ve been getting better every game.
“Offensively, the whole team did well in the sixth inning. I can’t pick one person out. The bats just came alive in that inning.”
Orman – who was once again strong in the circle – earned the complete game win, allowing five hits and one run while fanning two and walking two.
Norristown (3-4, 1-3 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South Monday for a non-league contest. Wissahickon (0-5, 0-4) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Friday for a non-league contest.
Norristown 000 000 0 6-9-0
Wissahickon 000 100 0 1-5-2
UPPER MERION 10, UPPER DUBLIN 0 (5 innings)
A trip to the top of the American Conference standings still goes through Upper Merion. The Vikings suffered a mercy rule loss to Methacton in a non-league game and then, according to coach John Whitney, couldn’t find its stride in a 4-1 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh.
In their three outings since then, the Vikings have outscored their opponents 36-3.
“We’re starting to play some games, and everyone is in a pretty good groove,” Whitney said. “Everybody is contributing, which is nice.”
Olivia Sborlini was in command in the circle, allowing just three hits in six shutout innings while striking out nine.
“She pitched good today,” Whitney said.
The Vikings pounded out 11 hits in the abbreviated six-inning game and – after plating a single run in the first – scored four in the bottom of the second. Bridget Valeri opened the inning with a single, and Alyssa Adinolfi’s double ignited the Vikings. Riley Kontra followed with a single that plated a pair of runs, and an RBI single by Dez Kandy brought Kontra home, giving the Vikings a 5-0 advantage. They added three runs in the fifth and brought an early end to the game with two runs in the sixth.
Nicole Kowalski was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Adinolfi was 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. Kandy was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs score. Sblorlini, Abby Volpe, Kontra and Michaela Ghanayem all contributed two RBIs.
“Liv is pitching good, and we’re playing good defense too,” Whitney said. “We’ll see how good we are Saturday. We’re playing Conestoga, and that will give us a good test.
“We play Conestoga Saturday, Upper Moreland at Upper Moreland on Monday, and Springfield on Tuesday, so that will let us know where we’re at.”
Upper Merion (5-1, 4-0 SOL) will host Conestoga on Saturday at 2 p.m. Upper Dublin (3-1, 2-1) will be on the road at Abington Friday for a non-league contest.
Upper Dublin 000 00 0
Upper Merion140 32 10
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 2, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 1
The Colonials outhit the Spartans 6-3, but the Spartans had the advantage the only place that mattered – on the scoreboard.
The Spartans got on the scoreboard in the third inning When Gabby Gaskin singled home a run, and they led 2-0 after Mary Kate Smith, who doubled, stole home in the fifth. The Colonials got one of those runs back in the sixth, but the Spartans held on for the win.
Jen Hammons earned the complete game win with another solid outing, allowing six hits and one run while striking out five and walking two.
Springfield (4-1, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Interboro on Friday for a non-league contest. Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-3) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 000 000 1 1-6-3
Springfield 001 010 x 2-3-2
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