Check out Wednesday’s SOL softball results. To view photos of the Souderton/Neshaminy game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
NESHAMINY 6, SOUDERTON 2
Lauren Quence turned in a solid outing on the mound, allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out nine and walking none.
“It starts in the circle, and Lauren was tough today,” coach Dave Chichilitti said. “She pitched a great game, and that’s where it all starts.
“We have a lot of young girls out there, and we had to fill some holes defensively. We only made one error and played fantastic defense behind Lauren.
“Laura Altenburger dove and threw a girl out and also dove to tag a girl out on a rundown. She played an incredible game defensively.”
Souderton took a 1-0 lead in the second when Nikki Canfield, who delivered a stand-up double to deep left, scored on a ball to right field off the bat of Haley DeLany.
The Redskins seized control of the game with a four-run third, capitalizing on hits by Diana Lapalombara, Quense and Sam Offenback. Sophomore second baseman Jen Walker delivered the inning’s big blow, an RBI double.
“It was huge to cap off that big inning by the sophomore who’s filling in for Courtney (Clee) at second base,” Chichilitti said. “She was struggling a little bit in the first two scrimmages, and this was a big situation there. It was great to see her get that hit and build her confidence.”
Altenburger slammed a solo home run in the fifth, and Sarah Derstine answered with a solo shot of her own in the top of the sixth. It would be Souderton’s last hurrah.
“(We were) hitting the ball hard all over the field, but Neshaminy made some great plays, which was the difference in the contest today,” Souderton coach Courtney Hughes said.
Wednesday’s game was the first of the season for the Redskins.
“It was a little nerveracking,” Chichilitti. “They had two games under their belts, and they were almost put in a do-or-die situation, and they came out and played like that.”
Souderton’s Paige Shelly was the lone player to collect multiple hits – she had two.
ABINGTON 10, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 9 (10 INNINGS)
Abington’s remarkable turnaround this season continued on Wednesday when they eked out an extra-inning win over a Central Bucks East squad that last year defeated the Ghosts in a game that saw the 10-run rule go into effect (15-5).
“This is huge,” said coach Ellie White, whose team jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second. “We’ve only had three games, but it’s our biggest of the two (wins).
“I think it has the kids believing in themselves, and that’s the step that they need. That’s big for them. East is a good team, and my freshman pitcher (Lizzie Lloyd) battled in there. She did a nice job.”
When the Patriots – sparked by a two-run double from Jess Haug rallied from a 7-3 deficit in to the top of the seventh to knot the score, it looked as though the Ghosts might be letting a win slip away, but they showed their resiliency by coming from behind to earn the important win.
Not just once but twice.
The Patriots scored a single run in the top of the eighth, but the Ghosts answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to knot things up. With the international tiebreaker in effect, the Patriots scored a run in the top of the 10th only to watch the Ghosts stage a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning.
With a runner on third and two outs, Lizzie Lloyd delivered a hit to right field. Angie LaMaina followed and drew a walk, and Raechel Holden, who has been carrying a red hot bat, hit a bad hop grounder to short, allowing the game winner to cross the plate.
“They’re a good hitting team – they have great swings,” White said of the Patriots. “They battled back, and then we battled back. It came down to whoever made that mistake to score that run.”
Abington leadoff batter Emily Willard reached base three times and scored all three times. LaMaina contributed a pair of RBIs and scored a run. Holden had two hits and two RBIs while Danielle Dyjak scored three runs and contributed an RBI double
Lloyd, who entered the game in the fourth inning, earned the win on the mound.
While the Ghosts improved to 2-1, the Patriots are 1-1.
WILLIAM TENNENT 4, NORRISTOWN 0
The Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back on the way to their first win.
“Our girls came out ready to play,” coach Erika Lee said. “They played strong defense, and they strung some hits together.
“The girls are maturing and growing, which is exactly what our goal is here. They’re coming out with a lot of intensity and focusing on everything.”
In the first inning, Rachel Raczak got things started when she was hit by a pitch, and she scored when Nikki Alden helped her own cause by delivering an RBI triple. Courtesy runner Sierra Isaac raced home on a sacrifice fly to center by Amber O’Toole, and the Panthers led 2-0.
In the fourth inning, Laura Petri doubled to left center, and she moved up to third on Whitney Delagol’s groundout. Petri scored on Ashley Wood’s RBI groundout to make it a 3-0 game. In the fifth, Alden’s bunt single plated Raczak, who reached base on an error.
That was more than enough runs for Alden, who fanned three in six strong innings. Nicole Clark pitched a scoreless seventh.
“Today as a team everyone played really well defensively,” Lee said. “We had a lot of really nice plays, and Nikki Alden pitched fantastic.”
The win came on the heels of the Panthers’ extra inning loss to Central Bucks East in their season opener on Friday.
“They’re not the type of team that is used to being on the winning end,” Lee said of her squad. “They had a lot of hard games last year where they were fighting back.
“We had a talk and said, ‘What do you do when you score four runs in the first? You have to play as though it’s 0-0 because a good team will capitalize if you play comfortable.’ That’s what happened.
“I think it’s a matter of the girls maturing and becoming poised and knowing how to handle situations. It’s not a matter of not working hard – these girls would run through a wall if I told them to. It’s just a matter of them relaxing and knowing how to handle different situations.”
While the Panthers improved to 1-1, the Eagles fell to 0-2.
CHELTENHAM 3, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 2 (11 INNINGS)
The Lady Panthers have played 20 innings of softball in their first two games of the season combined. After falling to Springfield (Montco) 7-6 in nine innings on Monday, the Lady Panthers needed 11 innings on Wednesday but this time came out on top.
Trailing 1-0, Cheltenham actually was down to its last strike in the bottom of the seventh inning when freshman Rita Laychock singled.
"She kept fouling them off and fouling them off," coach Ron Perlstein said. "It was a beautiful hit."
Laychock moved up to second on a passed ball and scored the tying run when Breeanin Hansteen riped a double.
With the international tiebreaker in effect, both teams scored in the 10th inning. Hansteen was in the middle of the action yet again, crossing the plate when Nnikki Maurer was safe on an error. The Lady Panthers won it in the 11th when senior Lesenia Santiago delivered an RBI single.
Santiago also earned the win on the mound, striking out seven and scattering five hits in 11 innings.
"She pitched beautifully," Perlstein said. "She was pretty dominating.
"It was a nice win. It was a team effort."
Hansteen led the Lady Panthers at the plate with a pair of doubles.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 5, CONESTOGA 2
The Hatters’ senior leadership stepped to the forefront in the sixth inning with the Pioneers on top 2-0. Sparked by their veterans, the Hatters plated five runs in the sixth to earn the come-from-behind win.
“They keep it interesting,” coach Joe DiFilippo said. “Conestoga played us very tough. The girls dug down deep today.
“It was very good to be tested, and the seniors stepped up.”
Jackie DiPietro opened the pivotal sixth inning with a double, and Chrissy James followed with a single. DiPietro scored on Maria Spinosa’s suicide squeeze, and senior Val Sadowl followed with triple to deep right that plated a pair. Nicole Casagrand delivered a two-out RBI single.
Daria Edwards had a double in Wednesday’s win.
Conestoga took a 2-0 lead in the first when Morgan Noad roped a two-run home run.
Maggie Shaffer earned the win, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out seven.
UPPER MERION 8, DELCO 0
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