Neshaminy saw its season come to an end in Wednesday’s playback game against Haverford. Photos courtesy of Jesse Garber (https://jsgarber.zenfolio.com/p535482056)
#1-7 HAVERFORD 9, #1-6 NESHAMINY 4
It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
And the tears when it was over confirmed that the young Redskins – who had just one senior in their starting lineup – expected to be playing well beyond Tuesday’s playback game. An upstart Haverford squad had other ideas, rebounding from a mercy rule loss at the hands of North Penn to stun the Redskins and send them home for the season.
The Fords loaded the bases in the first inning but came up empty. They did it again in the second, and this time they capitalized when Amber Moscoe ripped a grand slam home run over the left field fence. Just like that, the Fords had a 4-0 lead and, more importantly, all kinds of confidence. Moscoe’s blast had the opposite effect on the Redskins.
“We just pressed a little bit too much and didn’t swing at pitches early in the game that we wanted to hit,” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “We swung at (Emma Taylor’s) pitches and gave them way too many easy plays to make.
“Give them credit too – there were a few difficult ones, and they made them. They made all the plays today until the last inning when nerves set in. Watching the tape, they didn’t look like that, but they were capable of doing it today.”
The Redskins got a run back in the third inning when Kiley Gurysh delivered an RBI single, but any thoughts of a comeback were all but put to rest in the sixth inning when Moscoe delivered her second home run of the day – this one a three-run shot over the right field fence to put the Fords on top 7-1. That lead grew to 9-1 in the top of the seventh before the Redskins put three on the board in the seventh.
The inning included a leadoff single by Kennedie Ruth, two-out RBI singles by Gurysh and Asia Barnard as well as an RBI triple by Emily Siwek, but it was too little too late.
Olivia Fee – who once again threw out a runner at the plate from left field – was the lone senior in the starting lineup.
“I told Olivia – I’m sorry, you never want to go out this way, but with such a young team, nobody really expected this team to be as good as it was,” Chichilitti said. “She knows that every single person out there gave her their best effort and we love her.”
As for his message to his young players, Chichilitti saved that for another day.
“Today you let it go, but when we meet them individually tomorrow, we’ll have some talks,” the Redskins’ coach said. “If you tell them anything today – I want them to soak every piece of it in so they get the feeling first, and then we’ll talk about it and do the explaining tomorrow.”
Barnard and Gurysh both had two hits to lead the Redskins, who had just three hits through the first six innings before erupting for four in the seventh.
Neshaminy (10-2 SOL) closed out its season with a 17-6 record.
Haverford 040 003 2 9
Neshaminy 001 000 3 4
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