To view photos of the Truman/Bensalem game, visit the Photo Gallery.
Central Bucks East 2, Hatboro-Horsham 1
The Patriots pulled off the stunner of the day on Thursday when they defeated the Hatters 2-1.
“I’m really proud of my team,” East coach Erin Scott said. “I said to them today, ‘A lot of teams have been underestimating us because we haven’t been in the newspapers, we haven’t been in articles,’ but I almost like that.”
The Hatters (4-2) were 24 hours removed from a 1-0 loss to Central Bucks South when they took on the Patriots.
“They’re a strong team,” Scott said of the Hatters. “They were coming off a tough game yesterday, and to them – and I can’t blame them, they weren’t playing us as if they were playing South.
“I’m not saying they didn’t play us strong, but I think we surprised them in the first inning.”
That surprise came with one swing of the bat when freshman third baseman Allie Chase hit a solo home run to deep left field with two outs.
“She’s a quick kid,” Scott said. “For some kids, it would have been a double or triple, but she turned it into a home run.”
The Hatters put a pair of runners on board in the third when Danielle DiFilippo drew a one-out walk and Heather Lutz followed with a single, but the top of the order could not capitalize.
In the fourth, Chase led off with a single, and Brittany Devlin followed with a single. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt, and pitcher Robyn Zeigler helped her own cause with an RBI single, giving the Patriots a 2-0 advantage.
Chase was injured in the fourth and had to leave the game, forcing catcher Brittany Devlin to move to third base and bringing in a freshman to call the signals behind the plate.
Melissa Spinosa led off the fifth for the Hatters with a single and advanced to third on a pair of passed balls. A sacrifice fly by Lutz plated Spinosa, but that would be the extent of the scoring for both teams.
For the Patriots, the win came on the heels of a 5-1 loss to Nazareth the preceding day.
“Their pitcher was bringing heat,” Scott said of Nazareth. “We had 16 or 17 strikeouts out of 21 outs in the game, and we had some errors, but I think it kind of prepared us for today. We learned from some of the mistakes we made.
“Some of these teams are intimidating, so I said to them, ‘You guys need to believe we can compete with teams of this caliber. You need to believe we can win this game.’ I’m just so proud of them. I feel like I’m saying things, and they’re responding.”
Zeigler notched the win, striking out two and walking two while scattering five hits. Maggie Shaffer fanned five in the loss.
North Penn 8, Central Bucks West 4
Less than 24 hours after North Penn’s seniors had returned from their class trip in Florida, the Maidens took the field against the Bucks for their first game action in a week.
They certainly hadn’t lost their stride at the plate, pounding out 13 hits as they opened up an 8-0 lead before the Bucks staged a seventh-inning rally.
Alyssa Campbell led the charge with a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate, which included a pair of doubles. Leadoff batter Mary Ward was 3-for-3 and reached base on all four of her trips to the plate.
“When I get up there, all I think is ‘Get on base,’” Ward said. “That is my favorite part of softball. I could get one triple, but I’d rather have three singles as long as I can get on base three times.”
Miranda Sergas and Steph Kulp both contributed two-run homeruns while Christie Mallozzi had a pair of hits. Taylor Marchozzi added a booming triple.
Sergas got the ball rolling for the Maidens when she ripped a two-run home run over the center field fence in the third inning. In the fourth, the Maidens added two more, and in the fifth, they exploded for four runs to go on top 8-0.
Maiden mound ace Kellianna Bradstreet took a one-hit shutout into the seventh when the Bucks’ bats came alive. A pair of walks set the stage for a one-out double to right center by Jen Toland that plated a pair. Pitcher Taylor Bobek followed with an RBI double to left, and Aimee Schnecker made it an 8-4 game when she hit an RBI double to right center.
“That was so important,” Schnecker said of the late rally. “The past two games we have been having a lot of trouble. We were trying to keep our attitudes up and get everybody in the game on the fence cheering.
“We don’t want to go down without a fight. That’s how we play all the time.”
Bradstreet retired the next two batters she faced to seal the win.
“We have been struggling this season,” West coach Wayne Finkbeiner said. “It’s been an uphill climb, but we did a lot of good things today and hung in tough.
“That last inning they started swinging the bats, and defensively – other than one overthrow to first, we did a decent job. I was really pleased with the way the girls kept at it.”
Springfield 5, Cheltenham 1
Behind the solid performance of pitcher Samantha Juliano, the Spartans picked up a much-needed win, notching their first win in four outings since losing starting pitcher Emma Goodrich, who transferred to Wissahickon.
“I can’t tell you how nice this was for these girls,” coach Ed Jones said. “You talk to the kids, and every day at practice they work so hard.
“They saw today they can do it. They felt devastated – all hope was lost when we lost our pitcher. I told Samantha to get the ball over the plate, and we’re going to go get it. This was her best performance. We made a couple of double plays. We played heads-up, smart softball. The kids believed in themselves.”
Jones acknowledged the effort of shortstop Elise DiFilippo, who made a pair of clutch plays, as well as centerfielder Taylor Delmonte, who delivered a big catch in the sixth when the Panthers had a pair of runners on board.
DiFilippo led the Spartans with a near-perfect 3-for-4 effort at the plate.
The Spartans’ junior shortstop led off the first with a single and stole second. She scored on a hit by Kelli O’Donnell. Juliano also delivered an RBI, and the Spartans had a 2-0 lead.
“It was a real battle,” Jones said. “We played real good defense until the third inning when we had three errors in a row, and they scored a run.
“After that, we tightened up, and that was the end of the scoring for them. They had a nice pitcher (Lesenia Santiago).”
The Spartans took a 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh. A walk, a single by Delmonte and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with none out. A pair of runners crossed the plate on wild pitches, and DiFilippo contributed an RBI single to close out the scoring for the Spartans (4-3).
Abington 10, Council Rock South 9
The Ghosts rebounded from a 2-1 loss to Pennsbury on Wednesday to down the visiting Golden Eagles in a thriller when Kelly Lyons delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh.
According to coach Ellie White, the Ghosts – despite their loss to the Falcons – gained some much-needed confidence.
“Pennsbury is a great team,” she said. “They just reload every single year, and we hung in there.”
Thursday’s game was a back-and-forth affair from the outset. Both teams scored a run in the first. The Golden Hawks added a pair in the third, but the Ghosts did one better, scoring three. Both teams scored a pair in the fourth, but in the fifth, the Golden Hawks took a 9-6 lead with a four-run outburst.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Ghosts scored three runs – all with two outs – to knot the score 9-9.
In the seventh, Emily McKay singled and stole second, setting the stage for Lyons.
“She is primarily a lefty slap-drag type of kid, and she smoked one up the middle,” White said of Lyons. “It was awesome.
“I think in the seventh the thought, ‘We’ve come this far. Let’s just do it. Let’s put it away,’ and they did. It was a lot of fun.”
Lyons – a second baseman pressed into emergency duty on the mound – finished the day 3-for-5 with two runs scored and the game-winning hit. She also notched the win on the mound. Nicole Pronzato was 3-for-4 with four runs scored, a homerun, and three RBIs. Senior captain Kim Begley was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
“Practice after practice, they’re getting better,” White said. “They’re starting to jell a little bit.”
Wissahickon 3, Norristown 1
The Trojans handed the Eagles their first loss of the season behind the stellar outing of Katie Ziegler. The sophomore mound ace fanned 13 in the winning effort.
The Trojans plated single runs in each of the first three innings while the Eagles scored their only run in the fourth. They were led by the two-hit effort of sophomore Rachel Philbin (double). Junior Karen Laksh had a triple, and Hope Daniel had a double. Gretchen Gualiagnone, Megan Plunkett, Kellie Gilman, Ziegler and Rebecca ‘Nuch’ Marinucci also had hits for the Trojans.
“We battled at the plate and came out the better for it,” coach Jerry Hartman said. “All the members of the team played tight defense and made the right plays.”
He also lauded the effort of Marinucci behind the plate.
Daisy Foster absorbed the loss for the Eagles (4-1).
Upper Dublin 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
For the second time in as many days, Kristin Ganerton tossed a shutout for the Flying Cardinals, fanning 11, walking two and allowing just two hits.
The Flying Cardinals scored both of their runs in the bottom of the sixth in dramatic fashion when Sammy Sitarski hit a two-out, two-strike, two-run home run. Amy McCaffrey, who singled and stole second, was on base at the time.
Melissa Wolf and Ashleigh Sharp had the other two hits for the Flying Cardinals, who managed just four hits off PW hurler Alycia Sabol. The Colonials’ veteran pitcher struck out seven.
Emilie Cruz and Tori Barattucci accounted for PW’s only hits.
The Flying Cardinals improved to 4-0 in league play (4-1 overall).
Central Bucks South 3, Souderton 1
The Indians threw a bit of a scare into the defending Continental Conference champions, taking a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning of Thursday’s game. The Titans scored three runs in the sixth, capitalizing on a pair of Souderton miscues.
“It was a thriller from beginning to end,” Souderton coach Courtney Hughes said.
Morgan Decker, according to coach Jennifer Robinson, was the spark plug that ignited the Titans.
"She hit a rocket down the right field line that was sure to be an extra-base hit, which was mistakenly called foul," the Titans' coach said. "She didn't give up though and hit a shot into left center for a base hit."
Decker moved up to second on Lauren Klepchick's bunt that was misplayed, and it was safe all around. One out later, Michelle Gessner drove in a pair with a basehit to the outfield. Kim Rowe came off the bench and drove home an insurance run with a line drive to the outfield.
"Our team was defensively sound today as well," Robinson said. "Shana Steigerwalt made a huge throw from right field to the plate in the fourth inning to halt another Souderton scoring attempt.
"Fran (Carrullo) also pitched a good game for us on the mound."
Carrullo fanned seven and walked only one. Brittany Beebe fanned seven and allowed five hits. The Titans played error-free ball behind Carrullo while the Indians committed four errors.
Olivia Shoemaker, who had a double, accounted for Souderton’s only RBI.
Alycia Stiles led the Indians with a pair of hits, including a double. For the Titans, Decker was 3-for-4 with a double.
Pennsbury 9, William Tennent 0
Freshman Val Buehler tossed a gem in the Falcons’ big win over the Panthers, striking out 11, walking one and allowing only a bloop single. The win came on the heels of a 2-1 win over Abington as Buehler filled in for the second game in as many days for senior Kait Schilling, who is sidelined with strep throat.
“Yesterday she was nervous,” Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry said of his freshman hurler. “Today she was fabulous. She was just awesome. She hit all her spots. I was really proud of her.
“Our kids came out and hit the ball.”
The Falcons scored three runs in the first and added two more in the second. They closed out the scoring with a single run in the fourth and three more in the sixth.
D’Anna Devine led the Falcons with three hits and four runs score. Rebecca Erb was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Danielle Fox had a double and freshman shortstop Mackenzie Obert had a triple.
Harry S. Truman 14, Bensalem 0 (5 innings)
Rachael Alligood fanned 10 and walked none while allowing just one hit in the abbreviated contest. The Tigers were led offensively by the two-hit efforts of Ashley Black, Bridget Hunt and Courtney Tenaglia. Black also drew a pair of walks, scored four runs and contributed a pair of RBIs. Hunt added an RBI and also scored two runs.
Pennridge 7, Christopher Dock 6 (11 innings)
Dock plated the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th and appeared to be on its way to a win, but according to Pennridge coach Scott Didra, Karlie McCreary, Jordan Villella and Alicia Detweiler had other ideas as they combined for two runs and the dramatic comeback that was topped off by a long drive in the gap by Detweiler to plate Villella with the game-winner.
Comebacks were nothing new to the Rams on this day – they spent the entire afternoon battling back against a Dock squad that entered the game with a 4-0 record.
The Pioneers took an early 1-0 lead only to watch the Rams go ahead 2-1 in the fifth. With two outs in the seventh, the Pioneers knotted the score.
Things certainly didn’t look promising for the Rams when the Pioneers struck for three runs in the top of the 10th. Not to be outdone, the Rams answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, setting the stage for the dramatic seventh.
Sarah Yerk led the Rams with three hits while Detweiler had a pair of hits. The Rams are 6-2 overall.
Upper Merion 6, Upper Moreland 5
Lacey Schwatz notched the win on the mound for the Vikings, who received a double and triple from Mia DiLella. Jenny DeSimone had a double.
Maddie Denneny and Katie Costello both had a double and triple for the Golden Bears. Denneny absorbed the loss on the mound.
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