Check out the recaps for SOL softball teams in action Wednesday. (File photo courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography.)
SOL Patriot Division
PENNSBURY 11, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2
There were plenty of unknowns heading into the season for the two-time defending Patriot Division champion Falcons. Gone were five seniors who had been fixtures in the lineup, but remaining on a young and relatively inexperienced squad were two players whose roles were clearly defined. Taylor Askey and Laney Freiband – the team’s lone seniors – are the undisputed leaders of this year’s squad, and if early results are worth anything, they’re doing a whole lot right.
“They might be more important than the seniors we’ve had in the past because we’ve had more than two – this is just the two of them,” Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry said. “They lead by example, there’s no doubt about it.
“They lead by example every day at practice – they just can’t wait to get here, play and practice, and they lead without being real loud or anything like that. They’re just – ‘Hey, this is what I do. If you like it, follow me.’”
So far, the young Falcons are following, and the results have been impressive. On Wednesday, the Falcons knocked a young Council Rock South squad from the ranks of the undefeated, a clear indication that the road to the top of the SOL Patriot Division still goes through Pennsbury.
“It’s definitely coming together,” Freidman said.
“I think we’re really jelling, and we’re becoming a team,” Askey added. “We’re all getting closer.
“There were a lot of seniors that left last year, so there are a lot of people that are stepping up this year to fill the leader roles.”
Askey acknowledged it’s a different feeling being one of just two seniors.
“It feels like we have to do a lot instead of divvying it up between the seniors,” she said. “We miss them so much.”
“We learned a lot from our seniors last year too,” Freiband added.
The Falcons did a whole lot of things right in Wednesday’s win. They got an immediate lift when Presley Foote led off with a solo home run. For good measure, they added a second run in the inning when Ava Storlazzi, who singled and stole second, scored on a single by Freiband to put the Falcons on top 2-0.
“They heard a lot about South, and they came ready to play,” McSherry said. “They knew they were going to play a good team.”
The Falcons added three runs in the third inning to up their lead to 5-0. Askey’s double to right plated the first, and she stole third and scored on an error for the second. Naya Schubel’s two-out single drove in Hannah DeFinis, who walked and stole second.
In the sixth, Askey and freshman Syd Krandavi – who pinch hit – led off with back-to-back singles. A perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt by DeFinis – who legged it out for a single – plated Askey. Krandavi scored on a groundout, and the Falcons led 7-0,
It looked like the game would come to an early end when the Falcons put three runs on the board in top of the sixth. The inning was highlighted by RBI singles from Askey and DeFinis, and armed with a 10-0 lead, the Falcons needed just three outs to call it a day.
The Golden Hawks didn’t let that happen, and after back-to-back singles by Kelly Delise and Ameerah Wheet, Grace Stepp delivered a two-run single.
“Props to them – they never gave up,” Askey said. “They kept fighting. We haven’t played a team yet that hasn’t put up a good fight. It’s been a full game effort.”
The Falcons added a run in the seventh when Ava Storlazzi, who doubled, scored.
“It felt like a team today,” Askey said. “It felt like we were all contributing and all hitting, all making plays, all communicating out in the field. It felt like we were really jelling together.
“I feel like we came out ready to play today,” Freiband said. “We had hits at the times when we needed them, we made plays in the field, and it worked out.”
“Laney also threw a great game,” Askey added.
Freiband, who was in complete command, earned the complete game win, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out 11 and walking none.
For the Falcons, Storlazzi was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Askey was 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs.
“She’s had some big games for us,” McSherry said of Askey. “She’s a player. With her in center field, she covers so much ground, but besides that, she is always talking to Bella Morales and Presley Foote. She is a general out there in center field.”
Foote was 2-for-5 with a home run, RBI and run scored, and DeFinis was 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.
“We understand it’s early in the season – we’re only five games in, but it looks like they’re starting to jell,” McSherry said. “We have a couple of real young kids playing, and we have some kids who haven’t played varsity. They may be sophomores or juniors but haven’t been varsity players. It’s a whole new look to the team.”
For the Golden Hawks, Stepp was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Delise was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
“We played unfocused today,” Rock South coach Dan Schram said. “The kids still fought and stayed up for each other all game.
“We have great kids. Never want them to make excuses especially in a loss. Our practice the day before was completely unfocused and I take full responsibility for that as coach. Moving forward, nothing stands in our way from being successful. Back at it tomorrow.”
Pennsbury (5-0, 3-0 SOL) will travel to the Hun School on Tuesday for a non-league game, and Council Rock South (5-1, 3-1) is off until Monday, April 17, when the Hawks will travel to Harry s Truman.
Pennsbury 203 023 1 11-13-0
Council Rock South 000 002 0 2-7-4
Non-league
QUAKERTOWN 4, PENNRIDGE 3
It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always pretty, but the Panthers won their seventh gave without a loss in Thursday’s non-league rivalry game against the Rams.
“It was a tough game,” Quakertown coach Dave Scott said. “We played pretty sloppy softball and were lucky to get the win.”
The visiting Panthers trailed 3-1 heading into the top of the sixth when they scored three runs to take a 4-3 lead they would not lose. Ava Beal was safe on a one-out error, and Katie Muller followed with a single. Both runners advanced on a passed ball, and both scored when Leah Schwalm lined a single to center. Carli Maha – who entered the game when Maya Hellyer was injured – delivered a single that plated the go-ahead run that stood as the game-winner.
“Leah Schwalm was the key contributor on offense – she just continues to hit the ball hard,” Scott said. “Carli Maha had a huge single.”
The Panthers – specifically first baseman Mary Wilkinson and second baseman Skyler Williams – threw some leather at the Rams in the bottom of the seventh to preserve their team’s one-run lead.
“Mary made a great backhand scoop on a bounced throw for the first out,” Scott said. “Skyler made one of the best defensive plays I’ve seen in a long time. On a ball hit up the middle, she full out dove, backhanded the ball, got to her knees and made the throw. It was an amazing play for the second out.”
Earlier in the game, the Rams took a 1-0 lead when Averi Dockery hit a solo shot over the center field fence – her third round tripper in two days. The Panthers evened the score when Schwalm (2-for-3, HR, 3RBIs, 2R) ripped a solo home run with one out in the fourth.
The Rams took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Clara Barron hit an RBI single to right field, and Grace Helbling’s solo home run to lead off the fifth put the Rams on top 3-1.
Abbey Wagner notched her seventh win of the season without a loss, striking out five and walking three.
For the Rams, Dockery was 3-for-3 with a home run, RBI and run scored. Ryleigh Lilly was 2-for-4.
Quakertown (7-0, 3-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Tuesday, and Pennridge (2-3, 0-2) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
Quakertown 000 103 0 4
Pennridge 010 110 0 3
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 8, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 7 (10 innings)
The Bucks three times rallied from deficits to eke out the non-league win. None was more impressive than their three-run 10th after the visiting Vikings scored a pair in the top of the inning.
“This was definitely a confidence booster,” West coach Ali Coleman said. “Taking the win today – it wasn’t an easy win, but it was a collective team win, and I think it really allowed the girls to realize how good we are as a team and build that confidence to take us through some of the big games that we have coming up.”
“One of the biggest things we discussed after the game was that they never, ever thought they were going to lose the game. They always came in being positive and excited to hit and then having great at-bats. There was never a moment where the girls thought they were going to lose this game. That was the biggest thing. They always knew they were going to win.”
That faith was rewarded with a gutsy comeback that began with Laila Murray – with the international tiebreaker in effect and a runner on second – reaching first on an error to lead off the inning. After a strikeout for the inning’s first out, Ana Glemser delivered a hard grounder to right for a basehit that plated a run. Taylor Hooven hit a hard ground ball that Wood’s diving second baseman got a glove on it but could not make a play, and a pair of runners scored for the walk-off win – the second walk-off win of the young season for the Bucks.
The drama didn’t begin and end in the 10th inning. There was plenty before that as the Vikings plated a run in the top of the ninth, and the Bucks needed – and got – a run in the bottom of the inning. Chloe Dryden led off with a single but was erased on a double play. Molly Gibson followed with a single and scored when Julia Thomas singled to right.
Early in the game, the Bucks put a single run on the board in both the first and second innings. In the first, Hooven led off with a single and scored when Gibson hit a two-out double to center field. They added an unearned run in the second only to watch the Vikings go on top after a three-run third.
The Bucks scored two in the bottom of the sixth to go on top 4-3, but the Vikings knotted the score in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for extra innings.
Dryden’s 3-for-5 showing at the plate led the Bucks. Hooven was 2-for-6 with two RBIs and a run scored, Gibson was 2-for-5 with a double, RBI and run, and Glemser was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
“This game gave the girls a reminder of how good they are and to never give up because there’s always something good that’s going to come out of it by never giving up, staying positive and energetic,” Coleman said.
Central Bucks West (3-2, 1-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday.
Archbishop Wood 003 000 101 2 7-8-5
Central Bucks West 110 002 001 3 8-12-3
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