Souderton won the program’s first PIAA Class AAAA state title, thanks to Friday’s 8-3 win over Lower Dauphin at Penn State University. To view photos of the pregame and postgame festivities, please visit the Photo Gallery. Check back for a video of a postgame interview with the team’s four senior captains as well as photos of the team’s triumphant return to the high school. A follow-up notebook will be posted later this weekend.
STATE COLLEGE - Amanda Brush was a picture of irrepressible joy during Souderton’s postgame medal ceremony.
“I’m just so happy I could cry,” Souderton’s senior captain said to a teammate standing next to her. “I’m just so happy.”
Multiply that happiness by the number of players and coaches on Souderton’s team, and it might begin to capture the absolute jubilation on Souderton’s sidelines after the Indians’ 8-3 win over Lower Dauphin in Friday’s PIAA Class AAAA state title game at Penn State University’s Beard Field.
“We did this as a team, which is probably the best part,” Brush said. “Everyone contributed. Everyone got each other’s backs, and we did it.
“We did it. We brought home the gold.”
“This means so much,” Paige Shelly said. “Especially having graduation yesterday and the next day coming to play softball (for a state title).
“It’s definitely amazing, it’s indescribable. I will never be able to find words to describe this.”
In the midst of the tears, the hugs, the laughter, coach Steph Rummel was trying to come to grips with what had just transpired.
“I’m just a little out of it right now,” the Indians’ coach said. “I have no idea where I’m at – in the stars, I think. I’m just trying to take it all in.”
A happy ending certainly didn’t seem assured when the Falcons plated a pair of runs in the top of the first. Leadoff batter Madison Lilliock was hit by a pitch, and when Kaylee Stoner legged out a bunt single, the Falcons had runners on the corners with none out.
Before the inning was over, the Falcons had collected two more hits and pushed a pair of runs across – both unearned – to take a 2-0 lead.
Rummel provided a calming presence when the Indians returned to their dugout for the bottom of the first.
“To be honest, what I said to them after they came in after that inning was, ‘Okay, they got a couple of runs. Put a smile on your face. That’s not going to happen again, and we’re going to come back and get them,’” Rummel said. “Regardless of winning or losing today, I was just so proud of them getting to this point. I just wanted to have a good solid game.
“I know Erelle (Sowers) wasn’t completely ready. I think she had a little too much time off between warming up and pitching in the game. I should have been more on top of that. I think she just really needed to get into a groove, and she found it.”
The Falcons threatened in to the top of the second, putting a pair of runners on board, but with runners on second and third, Sowers closed out the inning with a strikeout. It marked the beginning of a stretch that saw the senior pitcher retire seven straight – three by strikeout.
The Indians, meanwhile, gave Sowers all the run support she would need in the bottom of the second. Dayna Shelly drew a leadoff walk, and Missy Wiley was safe on an error. Shelly raced home on a throwing error by pitcher Ava Bottiglia, and Savannah Bostwick and Angie Carty followed with back-to-back RBI singles against the Falcons’ drawn-in infield. Carty’s gave the Indians a lead they would not lose (3-2). With two outs, Brush looped a single over first to plate another run, and the Indians led 4-2.
“I think we were nervous, especially with the big crowd,” Paige Shelly said. “I learned to shut everyone out, but having this state game and the meaning of winning - it’s a lot of pressure.
“I think we just came out tense, but once we relaxed, once Rummel talked to us, we were totally fine, and we did it.”
In the fourth, Carty, one of four players to collect two hits, singled to right, and Sowers followed with a line single to right. Paige Shelly’s single down the third base line plated Carty, and with the bases loaded, Dayna Shelly delivered a two-run single to right to put the Indians on top 7-2.
“We know we didn’t do the best in the first inning,” Dayna Shelly said. “I think the nerves got to us and the excitement.
“When we came in, we re-pumped ourselves and got our confidence back, knowing we could do it, and we did it.”
“We just had to get it out of our system,” Brush said. “We know we can pick it up, which is why this team has been so amazing all year.
“We got each other’s backs, and we got it done. We started off with one hit, and we just kept adding on. It got momentum going on our side, and it was hard for them to stop us. They couldn’t stop us.”
The Falcons scored a single run in the fifth, but the Indians got it back in the sixth when Paige Shelly, who singled to lead off the inning, scored on Dayna Shelly’s two-out single to give the Indians their final margin of victory.
“It really is true that hitting is contagious,” Rummel said. “Once one person can do it, the whole team knows they can do it.
“I think that’s also what our team thrives off of is that we have those big innings. That’s something we’ve focused on all year – when there are runners in scoring position, we have to capitalize and use that. They did a great job of doing that.”
The final inning was a quick one as Sowers – who retired eight in a row to close out the game - mowed down the Falcons with ease, coaxing a grounder to DeLany at first for an out of the initial batter she faced and then a popup to Paige Shelly at third for the inning’s second out. The final out was little more than a formality as shortstop Missy Wiley fielded a grounder off the bat of Kaylee Stoner and fired to DeLany at first for the game’s final out.
“The whole time I was talking to myself – okay, okay, and everything slows down,” DeLany said. “I wanted to make sure we got the out. When it happened, I was like, ‘Wait we just won.’
“That’s when it hit me. It was amazing. It was really surreal.”
“I’m speechless almost,” Dayna Shelly said. “It’s amazing. We did so good this year, and I’m proud of all my teammates, and I love all of them. We worked so hard for it, and I’m glad we accomplished it.”
Sowers, who notched her 17th win of the season, was in complete command after the first inning.
“We knew in the sixth inning we were at their sixth batter,” she said. “I really tried to get those first three outs, trying to get simple ground balls, high pops, whatever. Missy (Wiley) really buckled down and made that last out perfectly, and after that, it was just relief off our shoulders. Everyone was so excited.
“Before the last out, they looked at me and were like, ‘Relle, we’re going to jump on you.’ I was a little scared, but after that, there was so much relief and just so much excitement. It was unbelievable. It hit us when we were getting the medals – we just won a state championship. It was so crazy."
EXTRA INNINGS: Paige Shelly, Carty, Brush and Dayna Shelly each had two hits to lead the Indians’ 10-hit attack. Dayna Shelly had a game-high three RBIs…the Indians closed out a historical season with a 21-5 record…the team was greeted at the Lansdale exit of the turnpike by 14 local emergency vehicles. Nine led the team bus all the way to the high school where they were greeted by several hundred fans. An impromptu pep rally and reception were held in the gym, honoring the players for bringing home the program’s first state softball title. It is the first state title by a girls’ team in Souderton history.
Lower Dauphin 200 010 0 3-6-2
Souderton 040 301 x 8-10-2
LOWER DAUPHIN (3) – Madison Lilliock 2b 3-1-1-0; Kaylee Stoner 3b 4-1-2-0; Emily Lingle ss 3-1-1-0; Madison Kotchey 1b 2 0-0-1; Kayla Holl cf 3-0-1-1; Shelby Alcorn c 3-0-1-1; Leah Decker lf 3-0-0-0; Jamie Knaub rf 3-0-0-0; Jenna Miller dp 2-0-0-0; Ava Bottiglia p 0-0-0-0; TOTALS 26-3-6-3.
SOUDERTON (8) – Erelle Sowers p 4-1-1-0; Paige Shelly 3b 4-2-2-1; Amanda Brush cf 4-0-2-1; Haley DeLany 1b 2-0-0-0; Dayna Shelly lf 3-1-2-3; Missy Wiley ss 3-1-0-0; Morgan Yoder c 3-1-0-0; Savannah Bostwick 2b 3-0-1-1; Angie Carty rf 3-2-2-1; TOTALS 29-8-10-7.
E-Souderton 2, Lower Dauphin 2. LOB-Lower Dauphin 5, Souderton 8. 2B-Madison Lilliock. SF-Madison Kotchey. SB-Madison Lilliock, Kaylee Stoner, Dayna Shelly.
IP H R ER BB SO
Lower Dauphin
Ava Bottiglia (L) 6 10 8 5 2 3
Souderton
Erelle Sowers (W) 7 6 3 1 1 3
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