Central Bucks East 3, Souderton 2 (8 innings)
Robyn Ziegler and her Patriot teammates found themselves in one jam after another on Tuesday, none bigger than the one in the bottom of the seventh with the score deadlocked 2-2.
The Indians – thanks to a pinch hit double by Corinne Stiles and a bunt single by Taylor Yoder – had runners on second and third with one out. All the Indians needed was a base hit or a fly ball to the outfield, and a win was in the books.
“I just keep breathing and keeping myself calm,” Ziegler said. “I don’t want to overthrow the ball trying to throw it by them. I just want to stick to the pitching I know.
“I have a great defense behind me that I can believe in.”
Ziegler induced a pair of harmless pop-ups to the infield out of the next two batters she faced, and the threat was over.
In the top of the eighth, the Patriots staged an inspired two-out rally. Kaylynn Johnson got things started with a single up the middle. She moved up to second on a passed ball and then advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Johnson raced home when Taylor Huckfeldt lined a double to left center, giving the Patriots a 3-2 lead.
Souderton’s Olivia Shoemaker led off the bottom of the inning with a single, but Ziegler retired the next three batters she faced, and the big win was in the books.
“Both teams had opportunities, but to have the other team have runners in scoring position and to hold your ground and maintain your composure and work through it – that’s what you want to see your team do,” East coach Erin Scott said. “Especially the heart they showed in the last couple of innings – everybody was up, everybody was cheering, everybody was involved.
“It wasn’t like they got quiet and back on their heels. They just kept playing and believed in themselves, which is great to see.”
Lost in the shuffle of the heartbreaking loss was the glittering offensive performance of Shoemaker, who – after fanning on a high riser in the first – had three hits and scored a pair of runs. Her performance came on the heels of a 2-for-3 effort one day earlier, which also included a home run.
The Indians’ senior captain would have happily turned in her big performance for a win.
“We just have to bounce back,” Shoemaker said. “Like we told each other – we all need to step up, we all need to play our game, and we need to be more excited.
“Obviously, the excitement is not there right now. Today they (the Patriots) got pumped up and they fed off the energy of their big hits and getting runners on base. The excitement level wasn’t there today for us, and I think that would have helped us a lot.”
The Patriots got on the scoreboard first when they plated a pair in the fourth. Allie Chase – who had a pair of hits for the Patriots – drew a leadoff walk, and one out later Ziegler lofted a triple into the right field corner.
“I didn’t even know she was going to send me to second – that’s how much I didn’t realize it was that big of a hit,” Ziegler said. “I had been in a hitting slump, so that clutch hit really got me going.”
Jess Haug followed with a ground single up the middle, and East led 2-0.
Shoemaker cut that lead in half when she ripped a solo shot over the center field fence in the bottom of the inning, and the two teams were deadlocked after the Indians plated an unearned run in the sixth, capitalizing on a Patriot miscue as well as a Shoemaker single and Mollie Burrell bloop double.
That set the stage for the dramatic finish and the big win by East.
“This is a huge win for us,” Scott said. “We have a couple more big games left, but I think that we’re two evenly matched teams, and to win a game like this hopefully will give us momentum as we go into our last two games.”
“This was huge,” Ziegler added. “We were tied with Souderton and Pennridge, and we already beat Pennridge twice. We just really wanted this. We don’t want the season to end. We want to keep playing.”
Both teams entered the game with identical 5-6 records in SOL play.
“This is probably the toughest loss we have had all season because we know what’s at stake here,” Souderton coach Courtney Hughes said. “We have wanted all along to make the playoffs, and we knew going in that this was going to be a huge week for us.
“We’re not stepping up in the situations we need to, and that’s what we just talked about. We don’t have the energy like we want to be in the post-season race.”
Things don’t get any easier for the Indians on Wednesday when they are scheduled to host Neshaminy in a non-league game.
Harry S. Truman 4, Abington 0
With her team’s season not exactly following the script the Tigers had hoped for, Gretchen Cammiso encouraged her players to take a new approach to softball.
“In terms of the goals we set for our team, we’ve had some disappointments,” the Tigers’ coach said. “The last two weeks we kind of shifted our focus to playing good softball and really going out there and enjoying playing because I thought they kind of lost that because – in terms of wins and losses – we weren’t being successful.
“They’ve played much more consistent defense. I felt that finally clicked, and that was a big thing. They’re playing more relaxed, they’re playing more focused, and that was evident tonight.”
The win avenged a 5-4 loss to the Ghosts earlier this season.
“It’s interesting – it’s the same Abington team, but it was a completely different game,” Cammiso said. “I don’t know what we were doing the last time we played them, but we cruised today.
“Abington is one of the teams we always seem to battle with, and the girls were really pumped up to play Abington.”
Rachael Alligood was in complete command on the mound, fanning 10.
“She pitched well,” Cammiso said. “She pitched out in front, and that was her goal. She got ahead of everybody and kind of cruised from there. We strung a couple of hits together, and they just played well.
“Rachael probably threw one of her best games. She hit her spots, and when she works in front of hitters, it’s much easier to control the at-bats. She’s had a tendency this year to have to work out of 2-0, 3-0 counts, and you put them in a much better hitting advantage. If she gets in front of hitters, she’s tough.”
For good measure, Alligood was 2-for-2 at the plate, with an RBI double. Stevie VanSchaick and Bridget Hunt both contributed doubles. The game’s big blow was a bases-clearing triple by Courtney Tenaglia.
“Her triple came right after the batter in front of her hit a ball that was clearly a home run – it went fair but it landed in foul territory after it cleared the fence,” Cammiso said. “She ended up striking out, and that can deflate a team, but Courtney came up huge for us.”
As a result of Tuesday’s win, the Tigers are 5-7 in league play.
“We needed it,” Cammiso said. “I don’t know if we have any shot of playoffs. Beating Pennsbury on Thursday could give us a boost.
“In terms of helping the feeling of the season, this was huge.”
Norristown 12, Plymouth Whitemarsh 4
The Eagles won their huge showdown with the Colonials in a battle for the top spot in the American Conference. It was a 4-3 game when the Eagles staged a two-out rally to top all two-out rallies in the bottom of the sixth, plating eight runs to seal the Colonials’ fate.
“Our first two girls go down, and with two outs, we started probably the best rally I have ever seen,” coach Jon Kandrick said. “When I say everybody hit – every single person that was up to bat hit that inning. We scored eight runs with two outs.
“To be honest with you, I was in shock, but we played tough, and we always tell them, ‘That’s Norristown softball – you hit the (heck) out of the ball, play defense and have fun.’ When we combine those three things, we have a pretty good team.”
Prior to their eight-run outburst, the Eagles plated single runs in the first, third fourth and fifth innings to go on top 4-0 only to watch the Colonials plate three in the sixth to make it a 4-3 game. Kandrick insists he wasn’t worried, and his team proved why in the bottom of the inning.
All told, the Eagles pounded out 15 hits. They were led by the three-hit efforts of Daisy Foster and Julia Santoro and the two-hit performances of Gabbie Berry, Gina Pellechio and Stephanie Dinolfi. Maggie Creciun, Sammi Kidd (double) and Taylor Copestick each added a hit.
Dinolfi, Shari Lynne Kuth, Kidd and Creciun powered Norristown’s defense, according to Kandrick.
Foster notched the win on the mound, allowing seven hits while striking out two.
Pennsbury 13, Council Rock South 0 (5 innings)
Savanna Grantham continued her torrid offensive showing with a near-perfect 3-for-4 day at the plate, which included two runs scored, a double and four RBIs. That big performance came on the heels of a 3-for-4, four-RBI effort one night earlier in Pennsbury’s win over Conwell Egan.
Kait Schilling notched the win on the mound, allowing two hits while fanning eight and walking one in four innings of work.
Central Bucks South 10, Central Bucks West 0 (5 innings)
The Titans exploded for six runs in the fifth inning to bring Tuesday’s game against West to an early end.
The day belonged to the Stocks sisters.
Haileigh Stocks was 2-for-3 with a double, home run and four RBIs while Taylre Stocks was 2-for-3 with two triples and two RBIs. For good measure, Haileigh also threw a scoreless fifth inning.
Fran Carrullo made her return to the mound after missing close to a week of action because of illness. The junior mound ace worked four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while fanning one and walking one.
The Titans (11-2 SOL, 13-2 overall) have a one-game lead over Hatboro-Horsham in the league standings with two games remaining. They will travel to North Penn on Thursday for a rematch with the Maidens.
North Penn 12, Quakertown 0 (5 innings)
The Maidens have won seven of eight games since falling to Central Bucks South on April 21. Their most recent win over the Panthers was over almost before it began as the Maidens – sparked by a three-run home run from Michelle Holweger – scored six first-inning runs and never looked back.
Taylor Marchozzi hit a three-run blast in the fourth inning.
Also contributing were Mary Ward (1-for-3, one run scored), Steph Farrar (1-for-2), Steph Kulp (1-for-1, two runs scored), Alyssa Campbell (1-for-3, two runs scored, two RBIs) and Kellianna Bradstreet (1-for-2, one run scored).
Bradstreet earned the win on the mound, allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking none.
The win sets up a rematch with the conference-leading Titans on Thursday.
“We hadn’t talked about that until after today’s game,” coach Rick Torresani said. “What we’re looking to see is – have we improved? Have we gotten back to the way we were?
“We know we can compete with them, we know we can beat them. Now let’s go out and do it. It’s a matter of confidence, it’s a matter of going out there and saying, ‘You know what – last year we played them two tough games. We beat Hatboro three times last year. Nothing has changed. We’re basically the same team. Why can’t we go out there and do it?’”
CB South won the initial meeting between the two teams 10-0 in a game that saw the mercy rule go into effect.
Wissahickon 4, Cheltenham 1
Katie Ziegler fanned 11 and scattered four hits in a solid effort on the mound. The Trojans collected eight hits in the win with Ziegler and Alex Cominitski each collecting a pair. Gretchen Guaglianone, Colleen Lynch and Meghan Plunkett each had one hit.
Council Rock North 15, Bensalem 0
Pitcher Morgan Lewis notched the win, improving to 10-5 on the season.
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