Check out Thursday’s SOL softball results.
National Conference
ABINGTON 5, HARRY S TRUMAN 2
The Ghosts scored three runs in the third and two more in the fifth to earn the much-needed win in Thursday’s Senior Night contest.
“We have been struggling a little bit,” coach Ellie White said. “We have been playing better, but we just could not get ourselves together.
“We finally did that tonight, which is nice because we needed it. You hate to see the kids work so hard and then not be able to grind it out, so it was nice to get that tonight.”
Celine Farina led the Ghosts offensively with a perfect 3-for-3 day at plate with two runs scored – one of those runs on a delayed steal of home in the third inning. Lizzie Lloyd was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and she also earned the win on the mound.
“She was good tonight,” White said.
The Ghosts are 3-7 in league play (5-9 overall), and the Tigers boast an identical 3-9 record in the league (4-9 overall).
BENSALEM 8, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4
For the second time in as many days, the Owls defeated the Golden Hawks, although this time the game went the full seven innings.
“This was a much better game,” coach Dan Schram said.
First baseman Chelsea Briggs had a big day at the plate for the Owls, finishing the game 3-for-4.
“I’m very proud of her – she’s hitting the ball well,” Schram said.
Isabel Hansbury was 2-for-4 with a triple, and Victoria Hall was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Lauren Morell added another RBI – her sixth in two days – and upped her team-leading total to 22. The freshman catcher also has gunned down 11 base runners.
“She’s been flying under the radar,” Schram said. “She’s a special kid. She brings out the best in Jackie (Morell) and the rest of the team. She’s a pleasure to have out there.
“She’s just wise beyond her years, which has really made a difference. Jackie has swagger on the mound, but Lauren is more reserved. Sometimes you forget how big a contribution she’s making to you, but when I stopped and took a look, it’s remarkable the kind of year she’s having as a freshman.”
Jackie Morell earned the win on the mound, fanning eight and allowing three earned runs.
“One of the things that is helping us is we have one of our players back from last year who wasn’t out originally – Jen Campbell,” Schram said. “She’s been swinging a good bat, and we’re starting to get healthy.
“We had some players that have been missing for quite some time and been injured, so we’re actually just starting to get healthy. We’re excited. We had that little down spell where we were having trouble hitting. You face a Lauren Quense, and that’s going to screw your timing off because she’s throwing really hard and no one else is throwing that hard.
The Owls, who pounded out 14 hits, are 6-5 in league play (6-8 overall) while the Golden Hawks fell to 1-10 in the league (3-10 overall).
“Council Rock South is a much improved team,” Schram said. “They have a couple of kids who can really run, they’re aggressive, and you can see why they’re knocking some teams off.”
PENNSBURY 18, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 7 (5 innings)
The Falcons jumped out to a 5-0 lead only to watch the Indians score four in the third to make it a one-run game. Pennsbury went on top 11-4 after a six-run outburst in the fourth, but the Indians answered with three in the bottom of the inning but would get no closer as the Falcons brought an early end to the game with a big fifth.
Christina Bascara was 3-for-5 with three runs scored, and Suzanne Swanicke was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Michelle George was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, and Dani Litwin was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs.
The Indians were led by the two-hit efforts of Natalie Rounsavill, Dianna Amendolara and Marissa Gergel.
The Falcons are 10-1 in the league (13-2 overall) while the Indians are 4-7 in the league (4-8 overall).
NESHAMINY 6, WILLIAM TENNENT 3
The Redskins scored three runs in the second and three more in the sixth before the Panthers benefitted from an error to plate runs in the seventh. Leading the Skins were Diana LaPalombara and Selina Alicea with two hits each. Sophie Beretski had an RBI double.
Junior Nikki Alden led the Panthers with a 2-for-4 effort and three RBIs. Laura Petri was 2-for-3.
Lauren Quense was in command on the mound, allowing three hits while fanning 13 and walking three.
The Redskins are 11-0 in the league (14-1 overall), and the Panthers are 5-6 in the league (7-8 overall).
Wednesday, May 1
NESHAMINY 10, ABINGTON 2
Lauren Quense fanned 12 while allowing four hits and no earned runs in Wednesday’s win. The Redskins gave her plenty of help, pounding out 13 hits. Diana LaPalombara (2-for-3, triple) and Sam Offenback (2-for-4, double) led the Redskins’ attack.
BENSALEM 13, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3 (5 INNINGS)
Freshman Lauren Morell had a huge day at the plate, leading the Owls 12-hit attack with a 3-for-4 effort. She also scored two runs and contributed five RBIs. Jackie Morell earned the win.
WILLIAM TENNENT 9, SAINT BASIL 2
Nikki Alden, Elise Wood and Amber O’Toole led the Panthers with 3-for-4 days at the plate. Kaitlyn O’Toole and Whitney Delagol both were 2-for-4.
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2, HATBORO-HORSHAM 0
Tossing a shutout against the conference-leading Hatters was the last thing on Kristyn Marinelli’s mind heading into Thursday’s showdown, but that’s exactly what she did. It’s the first time this season the Hatters have been shut out.
“I don’t pride myself as a strikeout pitcher,” the Titans’ mound ace said. “I’m more ground balls, little dinker hits – hey, what works works.
“I never think coming in, ‘I’m going to throw a shutout.’ To have that is just icing on top of the cake basically. This is one of our biggest games of the year, and we came in to win. All hands on deck – whatever we’ve got to do.”
The key to Marinelli’s success?
“I just tried to keep the ball down,” she said. “They have great hitters, and I know if I get the ball up they’re going to rope one. If I keep the ball down, I have the highest chance for success. I’ll take those ground balls any day.”
The win not only created a logjam at the top of the conference standings with South, Hatboro, Central Bucks East and Pennridge all boasting identical 8-3 records, it also went a long way toward erasing memories of South’s three losses last week – two in the league and a third to Archbishop Ryan in a nonleague game that saw the Titans strand 17 base runners.
“After last week, our morale was down,” Marinelli said. “This is one big giant confidence lift. If anything, it’s the biggest lift we could have.”
Marinelli helped her own cause in the Titans’ two-run third, delivering a base hit that plated Hallie Bilker – who had walked – with the game winner. Maddie Decker also singled in the frame, and Hailey Warner’s RBI single made it a 2-0 game.
The Titans threw some leather at the Hatters in the third inning when – with the bases loaded and one out – second baseman Hope Darreff came up with a backhanded snag of a line shot up the middle off the bat of Jaynie Black, turning a potential base hit into an inning ending double play.
“The ball is hit off the bat, and you’re thinking, ‘Oh shoot, it’s hit hard,’ but you trust the defense behind you,” Marinelli said. “You know someone will lay out in front of the ball and make the play. I have confidence in the defense.
“That’s why they’re there, and also not being a strikeout pitcher, I use my defense, and it’s nice to have a defense you can trust.”
The Hatters, who stranded 10 base runners, collected eight hits off of Marinelli, who fanned two – the second for the game’s final out.
“That’s a real good hitting team,” South coach Dan Hayes said of the Hatters. “She kept them off balance. The last inning was icing on the cake and how she worked the whole game – she moved the ball around.
“We talked about the last time and had a plan of what we wanted to do, and she executed the plan and did a great job.”
The Titans are 11-5 overall while the Hatters are 11-3.
“We had four shots to score, and we couldn’t get the hit,” Hatboro coach Joe DiFilippo said. “They had one shot to score, and they got the hit.”
QUAKERTOWN 5, NORTH PENN 3
The Panthers pulled off the shocker of the day in the SOL, upending the defending district champions. Jess Cramp earned the win on the mound, scattering six hits. She also helped her cause with a double and RBI. Teammate Maddie Mulhall also doubled. Contributing RBIs for the Panthers were Mulhall, Maddie Calder, Emily Reis and Janelle Croissette.
The Panthers plated a pair of runs in both the second and third innings before the Maidens got on the scoreboard with a pair in the fourth to make it a 4-2. The Panthers got one of those runs back in the fifth before the Maidens scored a single run in the seventh for the 5-3 final.
The Panthers are 3-8 in league play (6-8 overall) while the Maidens fell to 5-6 in the league (8-6 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, SOUDERTON 2
The Patriots survived a late-game rally by the Indians, escaping with a win when catcher Julia Schoenewald tug out Amanda Brush attempting to score the tying run on Erelle Sowers drive into the right center field gap that plated a run. Souderton’s seventh inning rally began when Alex Ziegler and Morgan Yoder collected back-to-back singles. A forceout on Brush’s grounder brought Sowers to the plate, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
“On the slide home, the ball was knocked loose, and when Brush attempted to score, Julia dove with the ball across the plate to end the game,” East coach Erin Scott said.
The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the first when Paige Shelly, who had singled, scored on Nikki Canfield’s sacrifice fly. East answered in the bottom of the first when Jess Haug singled and scored on Allie Chase’s RBI triple. Neither team scored again until the fifth when Schoenewald delivered an RBI triple that plated Chase, who led off the inning with a single. Brady Tillotson’s RBI single put the Patriots on top 3-1. That lead held until the top of the seventh.
Jayme Ziegler threw two innings for East, and Kayla Ventura closed it out and earned the win. Salina Allebach absorbed the loss, scattering five hits while striking out one and walking a pair.
Leading the Indians offensively were Paige Shelly (2-for-3, RBI), Canfield (1-for-2, RBI) and Sowers (1-for-2, RBI).
The Patriots are 8-3 in the league (12-3 overall) and share the top spot in the conference standings with three other squads. The Indians are 4-7 in the league (7-8 overall).
PENNRIDGE 15, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (6 innings)
The Lady Rams took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first and never looked back. They went on to score three runs in each of the first three innings before tacking on six in the sixth to bring an early end to the game.
Paige DeCew was in complete command in the circle, scattering four hits while registering seven strikeouts and walking none, but it was the Lady Rams’ offense that stole the spotlight, pounding out 19 hits. Leading the way was Haley Taylor, who was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Only a double separated Taylor from hitting for the cycle as she collected a single and triple as well as a solo home run in the third inning. Morgan Taylor, the Lady Rams’ DP, was 4-for-4, and DeCew was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
The Rams are one of four teams atop the Continental Conference standings with an 8-3 record (12-3 overall). The Bucks are 0-11 in the league (0-13 overall).
Wednesday, May 1
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 6, QUAKERTOWN 0
American Conference
UPPER MERION 10, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 4
Abby Volpe had a monster day at the plate for the Vikings, finishing the day a perfect 5-for-5 with a triple. Teammate Micaela Ghanayem added three hits. Thursday’s win allowed the Vikings to maintain their stronghold on first place in the American Conference standings.
“They brought up a jayvee pitcher, and we struggled a little bit,” coach John Whitney said. “She was throwing some really slow change-ups, and a couple of our kids struggled.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got through it.”
Olivia Sborlini earned the win on the mound, allowing eight hits. She also had a triple.
The Vikings are 10-1 in league play (11-2 overall) while the Colonials fell to 5-6 in the league (5-7 overall).
WISSAHICKON 4, CHELTENHAM 1
Emma Goodrich pitched a two-hitter, fanning six and walking four. The Trojans scored single runs in each of the first three innings, providing all the run support Goodrich would need. They went on top 4-0 after scoring a run in the sixth before the Lady Panthers got on the scoreboard with a run in the seventh.
The Trojans, who collected nine hits, were led by the 2-for-2 effort of Kellie Gilman, who scored a run and had one RBI. Alex Comonitsky was 1-for-3 with a run scored and RBI while Britt Gelman finished the day 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Panthers are 8-3 in league play while the Lady Panthers fell to 4-7.
POPE JOHN PAUL II 10, UPPER DUBLIN 8
The Flying Cardinals turned an early 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead only to watch Pope John Paul score three in the bottom of the third to go on top 6-5. The Cards went on top 7-6 after plating single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but their hosts scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Cardinals had no answer.
Leading the Flying Cardinals was Sarah Rosenbaum with a 2-for-2 day at the plate with three RBIs. Ashleigh Sharp had two hits, and Rachel Hyman had a triple.
Kristin Ganderton absorbed the loss.
The Flying Cardinals are 6-6 overall (6-4 SOL).
Wednesday, May 1
CHELTENHAM 10, UPPER DUBLIN 0 (5 innings)
- Log in to post comments
