Check out the results for SOL softball teams in action Friday. Neshaminy/Souderton photos are provided courtesy of Jesse Garber. (http://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p180085713)
NORRISTOWN 4, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 3
On a day that saw many SOL teams accumulate double-digit hits and runs, the Eagles and Spartans combined for just five – or three – depending on which team’s scorebook you happened to be looking at. Whichever is accurate, the bottom line is that neither team collected all that many hits, and after the Spartans erased a 3-1 Norristown lead with two runs in the top of the seventh, Kathleen Watson won it in the bottom of the seventh when she delivered a two-out single that plated Alia Fisher with the game winner.
Carly Uehling, who was 1-for-1, drove in both runs in the Spartans’ two-run seventh. Gabby Gaskin hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth to knot the score 1-1, but the Eagles got that run back in the bottom of the inning and went on top 3-1 in the fifth. That score stood until the seventh.
Stephanie Orman turned in a dominant effort in the circle, allowing just three hits and three runs (one earned) while fanning 10 and walking three in the win.
Jenn Hammons was equally dominant. The senior hurler allowed two hits and four runs (only one earned) while striking out 15 and walking three.
Springfield (6-4, 6-2 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday, and Norristown (5-8, 3-6) will be on the road at Upper Merion on Tuesday.
Springfield 000 100 2 3
Norristown 010 110 1 4
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 14, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (5 innings)
Greg Heydet is never one to make excuses, but the Golden Hawks’ coach knew that his team’s performance in an 8-0 loss to Central Bucks West on March 29 was not indicative of the way the Hawks have played this season.
“A win’s a win, but that’s when we had injuries, suspensions and jayvee players up,” Heydet said. “We had to pay them back.”
In a rare non-league rematch Friday, the Golden Hawks – with a full roster of players this time – paid the Bucks back and then some in an abbreviated five-inning game.
They scored two runs in the first, benefitting from two free passes, a passed ball and a costly error. In the second, a leadoff single by Lauren Kropp and a sacrifice fly by Mikayla Becker sandwiched around a pair of West errors resulted in two more runs, and the Golden Hawks led 4-0 after two. Sparked by Melanie Wilkinson’s leadoff home run, they added four more in the third, and the Hawks topped that with a six-run fourth that featured a remarkable sequence of back-to-back-to-back home runs.
Senior Dolores Bowers ignited the six-run rally with a grand slam, and Makenna Diamond and Stephanie Andreoli followed with back-to-back solo shots.
“After Dolores hit the grand slam, Makenna Diamond said ‘How do I follow that?’” Heydet said. “I said, ‘You do it,’ and she hit one. When Stephanie looked, I said, ‘You do it,’ and she did it too.”
The Hawks collected six hits, and four of them were home runs. Andreoli was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Wilkinson was 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Andreoli also notched the shutout win in the circle, allowing five hits while fanning five and walking two.
“They had to come back after what happened the first game,” Heydet said. “I don’t take credit away from West – they played an awesome game that time, but we had a lot of errors in that game.
“These guys are starting to hit like they can and hopefully it carries over. We have a big week next week. We have Abington on Monday and Tuesday.”
The Golden Hawks have quietly won five of their last six games after a 2-2 start.
“We have players that sacrificed their own positions to be moved somewhere else to help the team,” said Heydet. “Melanie Wilkinson and Phylicia Wilkov have left the positions they play in travel to help us in other positions, which is big. Since then we’ve been playing good.”
Wilkov moved from shortstop to third base, and Wilkinson moved from third base to first base and also is playing some outfield.
Council Rock South (7-3, 4-2 SOL) will travel to Abington on Monday before hosting the Ghosts on Tuesday in a home and away series. Central Bucks West (7-6, 3-5) will be on the road at Harry S Truman for a non-league game Monday.
Central Bucks West 000 00 0
Council Rock South 224 6x 14
NEHSAMINY 15, SOUDERTON 10
The Redskins found themselves in a very unfamiliar position in Friday’s non-league game – they trailed 8-4 after the Indians put six runs on the board in the top of the third.
“We come out, and they scored two runs in the first inning,” Redskin coach Dave Chichilitti said. “There are runs, there are hits because (Amber) Brugger can’t throw anything but a fastball because you can’t grip the ball.
“At that point early, it was raining a lot. She had a really tough time getting command with a wet ball.”
The Redskins answered with two runs in the bottom of the first, benefitting from a double by Sophie Beretski and a pair of Indian miscues. They took a 4-2 lead when Mackensie Compton nailed a two-run home run in the second, but that lead disappeared in the top of the third when the Indians scored six.
“We get into that third inning, and (Brugger) couldn’t get out of it,” Chichilitti said. “We brought (Cailyn Seely) in, and in that inning, we ended up kicking the ball around two or three times. They go up 8-4, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
The Redskins got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning and added two more in the fourth to make it an 8-7 game. The Indians, who plated single runs in the fifth and sixth, took a 10-8 lead into the bottom of the sixth when the Redskins erupted for seven runs, capitalizing on five hits to go on top 15-10.
“They wouldn’t go away,” Chichilitti said of the Indians. “We were hitting the ball well – we were making great contact, so I knew we were going to break through.
“We had that breakthrough inning where we just lined them up and knocked them down.”
The two teams combined for 25 hits and 11 errors – seven by the Redskins.
“It was ugly,” Chichilitti said. “There was a point where I think almost everybody on the field made an error.
“I told the girls afterwards, ‘Every single person tried to lose the game, but the good thing was every single person did something to help win the game, so let’s get out of here.’ I give a lot of credit to Souderton. Their girls put some balls in play, and they had double-digit hits too. They were very good offensively.”
For the Redskins, Rebecca Dixon finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Her solo home run to lead off the fifth pulled the ‘Skins to within one (9-8).
“Dixon hit one like 270 feet – it was bomb,” Chichilitti said.
Compton finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and four runs scored. Beretski was 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored. Alexis Watkins was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, and Amanda Kurtz was 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored. Hunter Hart added a double, and Cailyn Seely was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Seely entered the game with none out and the bases loaded in the third and earned a win with four solid innings in relief.
“She pitched well to contact, and if we would have made the plays, her line would have been perfect,” Chichilitti said. “She entered the game with the bases loaded. It was a great spot for a senior to come in and level things out for us.”
Sophomore Sarah Dowala closed it out with a scoreless seventh.
Neshaminy (11-1, 8-0 SOL) will be on the road at Bristol on Monday for a non-league contest, and Souderton (5-5, 4-4) will host Council Rock North in a non-league game on Saturday (3 p.m.).
Souderton 206 011 0 10-11-4
Neshaminy 221 217 x 15-14-7
HATBORO-HORSHAM 12, PENNSBURY 6
In a contest that saw the two teams combine for 26 hits, the Hatters plated runs in every inning on their way to the non-league win. The Falcons actually had the advantage in the hit department with 14, but the Hatters took the lead with a three-run fourth to break a 4-4 tie. They never trailed the rest of the way, exchanging three-run bursts in the fifth and then adding a single run in the sixth and two more in the seventh.
Kylie Flagler’s solo blast put the Hatters on the scoreboard in the first. By the time the game was over, Flagler was 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Brynn Griffith was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, and Mikaeala Fedele was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Maddie Yeager made her one trip to the plate count, delivering a solo home run. Rachel Carney scored a pair of runs out of the leadoff spot.
Kaeli Simmons earned the win with 3.2 innings of relief, and Logan Cummings closed it out with a scoreless seventh that included a pair of hits and strikeouts.
Hatboro-Horsham (9-5, 4-5) will host Quakertown on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (3-9, 2-6) will host Bensalem on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 211 321 2 12-12-3
Pennsbury 202 020 0 6-14-3
UPPER MORELAND 16, UPPER DUBLIN 5 (5 innings)
The Golden Bears received big offensive performances from a trio of players in Friday’s abbreviated contest.
Amber O’Connor was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, and Maddie Mull was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. Alison Creighton was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, three RBIs and one run scored.
Upper Moreland (8-3, 5-3 SOL) will travel to Quakertown for a non-league game on Monday, and Upper Dublin (4-6, 3-5) will host Wissahickon on Monday.
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