Check out the recaps for SOL softball teams in action Wednesday.
Non-league
HARRY S TRUMAN 11, PENNRIDGE 2
The Tigers made the long bus trip to Druckenmiller Park well worth their time, notching their biggest win of the season.
“It was a very big game for us and a very big win,” Truman coach Lisamarie Belmonte said. “We had a long bus ride to Pennridge – it was about two hours with traffic. They came out ready to play, and it was fantastic to watch.”
Hayley Carter earned the complete game win, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out seven and walking two.
“Hayley Carter came out like I haven’t seen her pitch all season long,” Belmonte said. “She had a phenomenal day today.
“It was an all-around team effort. I’m really looking forward to keeping the momentum going.”
The visiting Tigers broke a scoreless tie with five runs in the top of the third. With one out, Corney Nau and Chrissy Huhn hit back-to-back singles. Teyana Towner walked to load the bases. After Nau scored on a wild pitch, Elle Oliver delivered an RBI single. Another run crossed the plate when Grace Pool hit a sacrifice fly. Emily Merrigan’s two-run double put the Tigers on top 5-0.
Four runs in the top of the fourth upped that lead to 9-0. Singles by Nau and Huhn set the stage for an RBI single by Olivero. Merrigan hit her second two-run double of the game to cap the four-run outburst.
“She had a (heck) of a day today,” Belmonte said of Merrigan. “It was nice to see her finally open up and get herself out there and really do what I know she can do.
“Elle Olivero had a big game, and Chrissy Huhn had another big day.”
A Morgan Henry solo home run put the Rams on the board in the bottom of the fourth, but they never threatened.
Olivero finished the game 4-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs. Huhn was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Merrigan was 2-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs. Alexia Devlin was 2-for-3 and Nau was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
“Sixteen hits was great,” Belmonte said. “We executed plays in the field defensively and executed runs when needed. We played the game how it was meant to be played today, and it showed on the field.”
Henry (2-for-3, HR, RBI, 2 runs) and Catelyn Thrush (2-for-3, 2B) led the Rams’ attack.
Harry S Truman (4-7, 2-5 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North on Thursday, and Pennridge (6-4, 4-2) will host Quakertown on Thursday.
Harry S Truman 005 402 0 11-16-1
Pennridge 000 101 0 2-6-1
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 12, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 0 (5 innings)
Coach Karl Knapp called Wednesday’s non-league win a “mental morale booster.” By any name, it was a welcome win for a Patriot squad that had lost six straight.
“It was something they needed for their psyche more than anything,” the Patriots’ coach said. “I told them, ‘It showed you could play to a level where you could beat a team like that as you should.’ We got a lot of good hits. This was something we needed to do for our own well being.”
All told, the Patriots pounded out 16 hits off a duo of Spartan hurlers in the abbreviated contest.
The Patriots put a run on the board in the first, thanks to Isabel Parker’s RBI double. They staged a two-out rally in the second. It began with a Hailey Aspinwall single that was followed by singles from Soleil Dooner and Alyssa Catron (RBI). Amelia Funston’s two run double was the big blow and put the Patriots on top 4-0.
A five-run third put the game out of reach. Highlights included a double by Bailey Schellhorn, bunt singles by Camille Laron and Emma Hagerich, RBI singles by Aspinwall and Dooner and Funston’s second two-run double of the game.
The Patriots were led by the three-hit efforts of Aspinwall (3-for-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs), Dooner (3-for-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) and Funston (3-for-3, 2 2B, 4 RBIs). Catron was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. The Patriots pounded out six doubles – two by Funston and one each from Catron, Sophia Lindia, Parker and Schellhorn.
Larson notched the win, allowing two hits in five shutout innings. She struck out eight and walked four.
“Camille (Larson) went the whole distance, which was only five innings, and good for her because she’s been having a little confidence issue and struggling,” Knapp said. “She had good control of her pitches and was throwing strikes. It was a good performance for her.”
Central Bucks East (2-10, 0-7 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Thursday at 6 p.m., and Springfield Township (1-7, 1-6) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh Thursday.
Springfield Township 000 00 0-2-1
Central Bucks East 135 3x 12-16-0
WILLIAM TENNENT 8, ARCHBISHOP RYAN 2
Mackenzie Clee was all but untouchable, allowing just one hit and one earned run in Wednesday’s complete game win. She fanned 10 – including six in a row after walking Ryan’s leadoff batter.
The Panthers scored all the runs Clee would need in a five-run first. Caitlyn Mitros tripled to lead off the inning, and Clee drew a free pass. Hannah Reimel followed with an RBI single, and Brianna Koonce smashed a two-run home run. A Ryan miscue set the stage for a Megan Curtis RBI single, and the Panthers led 5-0.
Highlights of a three-run fifth included a one-out single by Reimel as well as RBI singles by Devon Fithian and Megan Curtis.
Reimel (2-for-3, RBI, 2 runs), Koonce (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 runs), Fithian (2-for-4, RBI, run) and Curtis (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) led the Panthers’ attack.
William Tennent (4-6, 2-5 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Thursday.
Archbishop Ryan 000 101 0 2-1-4
William Tennent 500 030 x 8-9-1
WISSAHICKON 7, DOCK MENNONITE ACADEMY 4
The Trojans trailed 4-1 heading into the seventh inning but staged an impressive comeback, scoring six runs in their final at-bat of the non-league game.
“They’re a nice team,” coach Mike Borkowski of Dock. “Their pitcher (Rachel Lopes) is very deceptive because it looks like she’s throwing the ball out of her pocket when she pitches. She has a little different motion. She moves the ball around. She’s a nice pitcher.”
The Trojans do not have a fence on their home field. Dock does, and that – according to the Trojans’ coach – might well have been the problem.
“When we’re at home, we don’t swing for the fences,” Borkowski said. “I think what was happening was – I think they were trying to jack the pitches, and we had so many popups for outs.
“They saw the fence and the wind blowing out. (Lopes) did a great job pitching. She really was frustrating. I’ve got to hand it to her.”
The Trojans put a run on the board in the top of the first when Danielle Ciliberto, who led off with a double, scored on Siani Paige-Miller’s RBI single. That run was the extent of their offense until the seventh.
“We talked at the beginning of the seventh and said, ‘Let’s not try and hit the ball far – just get singles, get singles,’ and they all got singles,” Borkowski said.
With one out, Kailyn ‘Pop’ Pappanistisiou and Rory Goodrich collected back-to-back singles. Rebecca Selverian drew a walk to load the bases. Josie Johnson and Macey Segal both hit two-run singles. Collecting RBI singles were Ciliberto and Bella Harris, and the Trojans, who did all of their damage with one out, led 7-4.
“Pop and Josie were a combined 0-for-4, and they had two of the biggest hits of the day to get the inning rolling,” Borkowski said. “That was a nice win for us. Hopefully, we can keep going like this. We lost but played a good game against Upper Moreland. We lost to PW and had another real good game. One hit here or there and we could have won it. We’re starting to come around.”
Ciliberto earned the win in the circle and also had a big day at the plate, finishing 2-for-4. She struck out six.
Wissahickon (5-6, 4-4 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
Wissahickon 100 000 6 7
Dock Mennonite Academy 003 100 0 4
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