Check out the recaps for SOL softball teams in action Wednesday. Pennsbury/Neshaminy photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Patriot Division
PENNSBURY 4, NESHAMINY 3
It’s always a battle when perennial softball powers Neshaminy and Pennsbury meet on the diamond. Granted, for a while it looked as though the
Falcons might ride their early 3-1 lead that grew to 4-1 to the finish line in Wednesday’s early season meeting, but true to form when these two teams meet, the Redskins battled back and had the tying run on second with none out in the top of the seventh.
Rachel Allen led off the seventh for the Redskins with a double. She never moved past second as Laney Freiband retired the next three batters she faced on a line drive to second, a popup to third and a fly ball to center fielder Taylor Askey for the game’s final out.
“Taylor Askey had a great day – she got great jumps and ran everything down,” Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry said of his center fielder.
Askey’s catch put an exclamation point on a game that featured flawless defense by both sides. That might not sound unusual until factoring in that there was just one strikeout between the two teams in the seven-inning game.
“I haven’t seen too many high school games where there are no errors,” McSherry said. “Especially since Laney had one strikeout and their kid had zero strikeouts, so that means we made 20 plays in the field, and they made 17 because they threw one kid out (attempting to steal) at second base. That was 37 plays in the field without an error between the two teams. I don’t know if that will ever happen again. Both teams played really, really nice defense.”
Both teams had seven hits with Freiband notching the complete game win for the Falcons, who trailed 1-0 after the Redskins manufactured a run in the top of the first. Peyton Tierney led off the inning with an infield single and stole second. She scored on Morgan Volgraf’s groundout.
That 1-0 lead didn’t hold up long. In the bottom of the inning, Ava Storlazzi laid down a one-out bunt single past a charging third baseman. Sammy Raub followed with a single, and with runners on the corners, Storlazzi scored on a double steal. Freiband drew a two-out walk, setting the stage for Askey, who ripped a ball over the right field fence for a two-run home run, and a 3-1 Pennsbury lead.
“She got all of that,” McSherry said of Askey’s blast.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Falcons tacked on a run to go on top 4-1 when Naya Schubel, who singled, scored on an RBI single by Storlazzi. That run loomed large later in the game and proved to be the game-winner.
The Redskins put a run on the board in the fifth, thanks to an RBI single by Hannah Cieszkowski. They made things real interesting in the sixth when pitcher Ryleigh Bilbrey helped her own cause with an RBI single. It might have been more, but Presley Foote gunned down a runner attempting to go from first to third on a single.
“That might have saved the game, to be honest,” McSherry said of Foote’s throw for the putout.
For the Falcons, Storlazzi and Raub were both 2-for-3 to lead the seven-hit attack. McSherry would have liked to have had a few more.
“We had seven fly balls to the outfield – not line drives but seven cans of corn,” the Falcons’ coach said. “We told them – you can’t let that happen, but you have to give their pitcher credit. She made the pitches, and we didn’t hit like we should have.”
Pennsbury (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Thursday, and Neshaminy (2-1, 1-1) will be on the road at Council Rock South on Thursday.
Neshaminy 100 011 0 3-7-0
Pennsbury 300 100 x 4-7-0
SOL Liberty Division
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 14, ABINGTON 0 (6 innings)
Molly Moore was in complete command in the circle, allowing one hit in five shutout innings to lead the Colonials to a mercy rule win in their SOL opener. The PW senior struck out nine and walked one. Rian Reed threw a scoreless sixth to close it out.
“After a week in Disney on the PW Senior Trip, Molly Moore didn’t skip a beat in the circle,” PW coach Mike Perez said. “It was a great team effort, top to bottom – great energy for our league opener.”
The Colonials scored more than enough runs for Moore in a four-run first that saw their first three batters reach base without a hit on a hit batter and back-to-back walks. That set the stage for a two-run triple to right field by Sam Skivo and an RBI double to left by Madison Moran.
That 4-0 lead stood until the fourth when Jenna Yablon delivered an RBI single. A four-run fifth was highlighted by a three-run double by Joslyn Perez as well as singles from Moran, Anna Powel, Marissa Perez (RBI).
The Colonials brought an early end to the game with five more runs in the top of the sixth. Powel’s two-run home run to center field was the big blow of the inning. Marissa Caroluzzi had an RBI single and Caelin Kosvitch contributed an RBI double.
All told, the Colonials pounded out 13 hits. Powel, a freshman catcher, was 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and two runs scored in her first varsity start. Freshman second baseman Joslyn Perez was 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs score. Sophomore third baseman Madison Moran was 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and a run scored, and Marissa Perez was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored out of the leadoff spot.
Lauren Everitt had Abington’s only hit – a two-out single in the first.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Quakertown on Thursday, and Abington (0-4, 0-2) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham Thursday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 400 145 14-13-1
Abington 000 000 0-1-2
Non-league
BOYERTOWN 6, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2
The host Bears put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back on their way to the non-league win.
The fateful first started when the Bears’ leadoff batter reached first on a dropped third strike and included three singles, a walk and a two-run double.
Boyertown led 6-0 after tacking on single runs in both the third and fourth innings before the Patriots got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth.
Elizabeth Gray singled to center to lead off the inning, and one out later, Elise Waddington collected a single. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt, and both scored on Sara Camposano’s single to center.
East had just four hits in the game – all singles. The Bears, meanwhile, had nine hits – all in the first four innings.
Peyton Schellhorn threw two scoreless inning in relief for the Patriots. She struck out a pair and did not walk a batter.
Central Bucks East (1-3, 0-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Thursday.
Central Bucks East 000 002 0 2-5-3
Boyertown 401 100 x 6-9-0
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