Check out the recaps for SOL softball teams in action Monday. (North Penn file photo by John Gleeson. Visit the gallery to see a complete gallery: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p71625158 )
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
NORTH PENN 11, BENSALEM 1 (5 innings)
Julia Shearer was retired on a fly ball to left field in her first at-bat in Monday’s crossover game at Bensalem.
It was the only time she didn’t reach base in the abbreviated contest. Her next three trips to the plate were pretty much reruns – she hit a two-run home run to right field in the second inning, she hit a two-run home run to center in the fourth, and for an encore, she hit a two-run home run to right field in the fifth inning. Yes, Shearer did the improbable, hitting three consecutive two-run home runs in a five-inning game.
“This kid has done things I’ve never witnessed before in 30 years of coaching and then today – she hits one, then she hits another one,” NP coach Rick Torresani said. “Reyna (Doherty) is up and (Shearer) is in the on-deck circle. I was coaching third, and I walked up to her in the on-deck circle, and I said, ‘Hey, listen, can you give me another one?’
“She said, ‘Coach, you just ruined my mojo.’ I said, ‘No mojo, just give me another one,’ and there it went. She ran around the bases – she looked at me and she just started laughing. This kid just adjusts so well at the plate, and it’s just amazing. I was telling my son-in-law who played Division 1 baseball, and he said, ‘There are guys who hit home runs all the time in college baseball, and they never hit three in a row in a game,’ and he said, ‘You know what – in batting practice, it’s very rare to hit three in a row.’ I don’t have words to express, and I’ll never see it again.”
Doherty spent the day setting the stage for Shearer, singling on all three of her trips to the plate out of the nine hole and then scoring when her close friend and teammate smashed one home run after another. She finished the day 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and three runs scored.
For the game, Shearer was 3-for-4 with three home runs, six RBIs and three runs scored. She also notched the win in the circle, allowing two hits and one run, while striking out 12 and walking none.
The Knights scored all the runs Shearer would need in the top of the first. Sarah Sabocsik got things started with a one-out triple to right field, and she scored on an error. Brie Wilmot followed with a single, and Gianna Cimino followed with an RBI single. Wilmot scored on Cimino’s steal of second, and the Knights led 3-0.
In the bottom of the first, the Owls got one of those runs back. Megan Klein led off the inning with a bunt single and moved up to second on a groundout. With two outs, Adrianna Vargas brought her home with a single to right. That would be the extent of the Owls’ offense. Shearer retired 13 in a row to close out the game – 11 by strikeout.
Also delivering a big day at the plate for the Knights was Cimino, who was 3-for-3 with a double, stolen base, two RBIs and one run scored. Sabocsik was 2-for-4, and Wilmot was 2-for-4. Annabelle Smink was 1-for-3 with a double and run scored.
North Penn (14-0, 10-0 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Wednesday, and Bensalem (3-9, 1-8) will travel to Pennridge Wednesday.
North Penn 320 42 11-15-0
Bensalem 100 00 1-2-1
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
WILLIAM TENNENT 6, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 5
The Panthers found themselves staring at a 5-0 deficit heading into the bottom of the fourth inning when their bats came alive. They scored three runs but still trailed by two in the bottom of the sixth when they plated three runs and then held on for the impressive win in crossover play.
“This was a big win today against a very, very good team,” Tennent coach Rich Clark said. “In the past week, we’ve had a couple of tough losses against good teams – Upper Dublin, Quakertown and Hatboro-Horsham, but in each of those games, they fell way behind, never gave up, they battled back, but they kept falling short at the end.
“I think those losses, as tough as they are – they learned something from those and that got them over the hump today as they were battling back. As much as you don’t like losses, they learned a lesson from those, and they used it today, so we were able to get over the hump.”
The shutdown performance of Rylie O’Toole in relief gave the Panthers the opportunity to come back. The sophomore pitcher entered the game with no outs and the bases loaded in the fourth inning. She struck out the first batter she faced, retired the second – Jenna Yablon (RBI) – on a sac fly to left field. A groundout ended PW’s rally.
In the winning effort in relief, O’Toole did not allow a hit in four shutout innings, striking out four and walking two.
“Carlie (Nydick) pitched well, she pitched very well, but there were a couple of miscues on the field, and she was a victim of that,” Clark said. “We fell behind 5-0, and I just decided even though she was pitching well – let’s make the switch.
“O’Toole comes in, she has (three) girls on, there’s nobody out, we’re down 5-0, high pressure situation. She battles out of that, gives up no more runs, and ultimately, she ends up pitching four innings of hitless ball. You couldn’t ask for anything better than that. She did fantastic.”
Tennent’s three-run sixth gave the Panthers a 6-5 lead and was highlighted by a two-run triple by Gigi DeMito and an RBI double by Anna Coulter.
Early on, the visiting Colonials had all the momentum, and a two-run double by Marissa Perez was the big blow in a three-run third inning. They upped their lead to 5-0 with two runs in the fourth with Yablon delivering an RBI single and a sac fly by Marissa Perez.
In the three-run bottom of the fourth, Lainey Scotese had a double after Coulter reached base on an error. Coulter scored when Casey Yacovelli was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Giselle McLaughlin’s two-run double to right plated a pair and made it a 5-3 game. The stage was set for the Tennent comeback.
Coulter’s 3-for-4 day with a double, RBI and run scored led the Panthers. DeMito was 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.
For the Colonials, Kalina Childers was 2-for-3 with one run scored. Marissa Perez’s three RBIs led PW.
“Have to give credit to their second pitcher,” PW coach Mike Perez said of O’Toole. “She came in with the bases loaded, got out of the jam and had us off balance the rest of the game.
“That is a solid team and very well coached. They made adjustments at the plate and made solid contact to get back in the game and take the lead. We’ll get back to practice tomorrow and be ready to right the ship vs Upper Moreland on Wednesday.”
William Tennent (7-4, 7-3 SOL) will host Abington in a crossover game Wednesday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-4, 8-2) will be on the road at Upper Moreland Wednesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 003 200 0 5-4-1
William Tennent 000 303 x 6-8-3
WISSAHICKON 12, LOWER MORELAND 10
The Trojans erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a lead they would not lose, and Emma Dutill entered the game in relief in the fourth inning and shut down the Lions.
“They were a pretty good team, and I was expecting a good game against them,” Wissahickon coach Mike Borkowski said. “It was a nice team game. Everyone contributed which is what coach Sarah and I like to see.”
Both teams came out swinging. The visiting Lions scored a run in the first, but Siena Miller drove home Dutill and Emi Fox to put the Trojans on top 2-1. LM scored one in the second only to see the Trojans go on top 4-2 when Morgan Rosnychok ripped a two-run home run.
In the top of the third, Lower Moreland went through their lineup and scored five runs to go on top 7-4.
In the bottom of the third, Maren Carter squeezed Miller home from third to steal a run. In the top of the fourth, Lower Moreland scored a run and had the bases loaded with no outs when Borkowski relieved freshman Ava Frederick with Dutill.
“Ava didn’t do too bad, but they hit the ball pretty good,” the Trojans’ coach said. “Dutill came in cold from playing second base and did a great job. It was Senior Day, so it was great to see the senior come in and do a great job. She changed the tone of the game. It was a shootout until then.”
Fox and Rosnychok opened the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, Siena Miller doubled home both base runners to pull the Trojans to within two, 9-7.
In the five-run fifth, Maren Carter and Meredith Walsh both walked, Dutill was safe on an error that allowed a pair of runs to cross the plate. Emi Fox delivered an RBI single, and Deanna Schank had the inning’s big blow – a two-run shot over the left center field fence.
“Deanna has been getting close the last few games,” Borkowski said. “It was nice to see her get her first varsity home run. It gave us a three-run lead which we needed to win.”
Dutill earned the win in relief, fanning five.
Wissahickon (4-10, 3-7 SOL) will be on the road at Springfield Township on Wednesday, and Lower Moreland (4-9, 2-7) will host Upper Dublin on Wednesday.
Lower Moreland 115 200 1 10
Wissahickon 221 250 x 12
UPPER DUBLIN 14, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 1 (5 innings)
The Flying Cardinals celebrated Senior Day with the convincing win in the abbreviated contest.
“Because of the outstanding efforts of our athletic director and grounds crew, we were able to get our game and Senior Day in,” UD coach Heather Boyer said.
For the Cardinals, nine different players contributed hits. Kaelin Penna, Madden Reilly, Kaitlyn Zacharia, Katelyn Gamburg and Emeline Bell had two RBIs each.
Lucy Ruppel, Kaitlyn Zacharia, Meredith McKenna, Katelyn Gamburg and Emeline Bell also scored two runs each.
For the Lions, Elena Shire scored her team’s lone run and was 1-for-3 on the day. Kaylee Harris was 2-for-3.
The visiting Lions scored a run in the first and took that 1-0 lead into the bottom of the second when the Cardinals scored four. They put the game out of reach with eight in the third.
Freshman Kyla Garrison earned the win, allowing four hits and one run while striking out 10 and walking none.
Upper Dublin (9-4, 6-3 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham on Tuesday for a make-up game, and New Hope-Solebury (1-9) will host Quakertown on Wednesday.
New Hope-Solebury 100 00 1-4-5
Upper Dublin 048 2x 14-10-1
Upper Dublin seniors (l-r): Maddie Ruhf, Lucy Ruppel, Meredith McKenna, Emeline Bell, Kaelin Penna, Paige Foley, Katelyn Gamburg, Anna Levin, Da’moni Harvey.
QUAKERTOWN 16, CHELTENHAM 0 (3 innings)
The visiting Panthers put three runs on the board in the top of the first and all but ensured an early end with 11 runs in the second inning on their way to the abbreviated win.
Leah Schwalm’s RBI triple highlighted the three-run first that also included singles by Ava Beal and Maya Hellyer (RBI).
Three-run triples by Schwalm and Katie Muller were the big blows in the 11-run second.
In the circle, Abbey Wagner retired all nine batters she faced in three perfect innings – eight by strikeout.
Schwalm finished a productive day 3-for-4 with two triples, six RBIs and two runs scored. Beal was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Skyler Williams was 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Quakertown (13-0, 9-0 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury for a crossover game Wednesday, and Cheltenham (2-9, 0-9) will host Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
Quakertown 3-11-2 16-10-0
Cheltenham 0-0-0 0-0-1
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