The SOL was 2-1 in Carpenter Cup play on Monday and will return as the top seed from its bracket for Wednesday’s playoffs. (Photo provided)
Game 3: SOL 9, Lehigh Valley 7
Game 2: SOL 5, Delaware Valley 1
Game 1: Chester County 7, SOL 4
Katie Muller had never had a three-triple game.
Until Monday, that is, when the rising Quakertown senior did the improbable, hitting three triples in the SOL’s 9-7 win over Lehigh Valley. Even more unlikely, Muller did it in three consecutive innings – the second, third and fourth. She scored each time.
“That was definitely pretty cool,” Muller said. “The fence was really deep at that field, and actually, before the game, coach (Dave) Scott mentioned – ‘If you hit a ball in the gap or over the outfielder’s head, you’re looking three.’
“After I hit the first one over the right fielder’s head, I was thinking three, and then the same thing when I hit the ball to center. The third one I hit into the left center gap, so it was really a different spot for all three, but the same mindset.”
The SOL needed every one of those triples to defeat previously unbeaten Lehigh Valley in the third of three games in Carpenter Cup play at FDR Park. The SOL entered the third game with a 1-1 record after dropping their first game of the day
“After we won our second game, our coaches told us we really needed to win to get to Wednesday (and the playoffs),” Muller said. “Even after giving up those five runs, we knew we had to win that game to move on. There was a little bit of pressure there.”
Earning the starting nod in the circle for the must-win game against Lehigh Valley was rising North Penn junior Bella Nunn – who one week earlier was competing in the PIAA 6A state semifinal with her high school team.
“It was tough when the season ended, so doing this Carpenter Cup is a way to somehow hold onto the high school season a little bit,” Nunn said. “Even if it’s not with the same people, it’s nice to have that feeling of high school ball.”
In four innings, Nunn allowed five hits and five runs – only two earned – while striking out 11 and walking one in a strong outing.
Nunn is an outfielder for her high school team that is anchored in the circle by PA Gatorade Softball Player of the Year Julia Shearer, but she sees action both as a pitcher and outfielder for her Rock Gold Waye 16U National travel squad.
“I’m enjoying it a lot,” Nunn said of the opportunity to pitch. “It’s fun to pitch in this because I didn’t get to pitch a lot for high school. I love pitching, and it’s a lot of fun.
“We had a lot of motivation after the first game to win so we could make it to Wednesday, which I think brought us a lot closer as a team, saying ‘We got this, we’ve got to work as a team and do it together,’ and we did it.”
Things didn’t look all that promising when Lehigh Valley erupted to score five runs in the top of the second, benefitting from three SOL miscues in the frame. In the bottom of the inning, Muller gave the offense a shot of confidence when she ripped her first of three triples, and she scored one out later when rising PW senior Molly Moore singled to make it a 5-1 game.
One inning later, the SOL staged a remarkable two-out rally, sending nine straight batters to the plate and scoring seven runs. It began innocently enough with Nunn drawing a two-out walk. She scored when Muller tripled to center. Pennsbury rising junior Hannah DeFinis and Moore reached base on back-to-back errors with a pair of runs scoring on the second miscue. Souderton rising senior Sierra Miller drew a walk and Grace Christie, also a rising senior at Souderton, reached base on an error that allowed a pair of runs to cross the plate. Pennsbury rising junior Ava Storlazzi followed with an RBI single, and PW rising junior Marissa Perez singled. Quakertown rising senior Emma Hilton was safe on an error - Lehigh Valley’s fourth error of the inning, this one allowing two more runs to score and giving the SOL an 8-5 lead.
“I was a little nervous at first when the other team put five runs up on the board, but as soon as we got that one hit – the hits were contagious, and you were just handing the bat to the next person,” Hilton said. “It was just so much fun to be a part of.”
“It was great,” Muller said. “It was really cool to see everyone in the lineup produce and come through in that moment. I think they said we got through nine batters that got on base back-to-back. Even if it was on an error, we just kept the momentum going and put pressure on their defense. It was really cool.”
Muller led off the fourth inning with her third triple of the game and scored on a groundout by DeFinis, putting the SOL on top 9-5. Lehigh Valley scored two runs in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough.
*****
In their first game of the day, the SOL fell to Chester County 7-4. Chester County took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the SOL cut that lead in half with a run in the fourth, thanks to an RBI single by Storlazzi.
Chester County scored two runs in the bottom of the inning and opened up a 6-1 lead with two more runs in the fifth. The SOL made it a 6-4 game with three runs in the sixth. Miller drew a two-out walk, and Storlazzi and Perez followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. A bases-loaded walk to Hilton pushed a run across, and two more runs crossed the plate when rising Truman sophomore Amariah Knight singled. That’s as close as the SOL would get.
Storlazzi’s 3-for-4 effort with a run scored, RBI and stolen base led the SOL. Hilton was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
“We were all still getting used to each other,” Hilton said of the team’s first game. “Our communication wasn’t great, and it obviously improved throughout the day.
“In the first game, we were all maybe a little nervous, but that changed.”
“I think it was just an adjustment,” Muller said. “We did have a couple of practices but not a lot because we all are busy with travel seasons.
“Coming into the first game, we definitely made a couple of mistakes and were getting used to communicating with each other, but after that, we understood each other a little better and were able to make adjustments from that game. We tried to keep the defense as clean as possible, and the pitchers did a great job of picking us up when we needed them to.”
*****
In its second game of the day, the SOL – sparked by a pair of strong pitching performances and timely hitting – began to find its stride. Nunn did not allow a hit in 3 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out three and walking one. Moore threw three innings, allowing three hits and one run, striking out five and walking one.
The SOL scored a run in the first inning without collecting a hit and added two more in the fifth. Perez drew a one-out walk, and Hilton singled. With two outs, Neshaminy rising junior Alleigh Waskie singled to center to plate a pair of runs, giving the SOL a 3-0 lead.
Delaware County scored a run in the top of the sixth, but the SOL answered with two in the bottom of the inning. Miller got things started with a one-out single, and Perez brought her home with a clutch two-out double to left field. Hilton’s RBI single gave the SOL its final margin of victory. Hilton’s 2-for-3 with a run scored and RBI led the SOL.
SOL will face the second place team from Bracket C, which includes Delaware North, Delaware South, Burlington County and Philadelphia Catholic. All four teams will be in action on Tuesday.
More than a game – Win or lose, players invariably point to the opportunity to play with and get to know players they compete against in the SOL as the high point of the experience.
“It’s so cool,” Muller said. “It’s great to make different friendships, especially since a lot of the players are from Quakertown’s (Liberty Division) with Abington and Plymouth Whitemarsh. It’s really cool to get to know girls you competed against the most and get to talk to them.
“They’re all really great, it’s a cool group.”
Nunn and Hilton are teammates on Rock Gold Waye 16U National squad.
“It was fun to meet new people and play with people you haven’t played with before that’s usually your competition,” Nunn said. “Just working together is a lot of fun.”
“I’m enjoying it,” Hilton said. “You usually don’t get to talk to the girls on other teams, so it’s a really cool experience.
“I just like playing softball and getting to spend time with people. You get to see other people achieve big things – especially Katie (Muller) since I play with her for high school. When people get big hits and they have great days, it just makes me happy.”
Game 3
Lehigh Valley 050 002 x 7-8-6
SOL 017 100 x 9-7-5
Lehigh Valley (7) – Hannah Makovsky 3-1-0-0; Shayla Morgan 1-2-1-0; Sage Roman 3-0-0-0; Aubrey Steiner 1-0-1-1; Kate Yadush 3-0-2-1; Marissa Christman 1-0-0-0; Kassandra Aquino 2-0-0-0; Jordyn Hemmingway 2-0-0-0; Carly Gaffney 2-0-0-0; Delaney Troxell 1-0-1-0; Sydney Reinert 2-1-1-0; Brianna Amey 2-1-1-0; Lauren Egan 1-0-0-0; Morgan Schultz-Stuardi 2-0-0-0; Ashley Amato 1-0-0-0; Leah Chladny 3-2-1-2; TOTALS 30-7-8-4.
2B-Aubrey Steiner, Delaney Troxell. 3B-Leah Chladny.
SOL (9) – Ava Storlazzi 4-1-1-1; Marissa Perez 4-0-1-0; Emma Hilton 3-0-0-0; Bella Nunn 3-0-0-0; Katie Muller 4-3-3-1; Hannah DeFinis 4-0-0-1; Molly Moore 4-1-1-1; Sierra Miller 2-1-0-0; Grace Christie 3-1-1-0; Hailey Hernandez 0-1-0-0; Allie Franck 0-1-0-0; Amariah Knight 0-0-0-0; Sophia Azzarano 0-0-0-0; Madison Moran 0-0-0-0; TOTALS 31-9-7-4.
3B-Katie Muller 3. SB-Hailey Hernadez.
|
Lehigh Valley |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Carly Gaffney (L) |
3.0 |
6 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
|
Delaney Troxell |
3.0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
SOL |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Bella Nunn |
4.0 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
11 |
|
Molly Moore (W) |
2.0 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
Game 2
SOL 5, DELAWARE COUNTY 1
Delaware Co 000 001 0 1-3-1
SOL 100 022 x 5-5-1
Delaware County (1) – Hailey McMenamin 3-0-0-0; Ally Heston 3-1-1-0; Shannon Gavigan 3-0-1-1; Annabella Knese 1-0-0-0; Janie Lofland 0-0-0-0; Marissa Contino 0-0-0-0; Ava Craddock 2-0-0-0; Ava Rudolph 1-0-1-0; Grace Ciochetto 3-0-0-0; Sydney Scarpato 1-0-0-0; Riley Signor 2-0-0-0; Shauna Kerrigan 2-0-0-0; Grace Corner 1-0-0-0; Sydney Schaefer 3-0-0-0; TOTALS 25-1-3-1.
2B-Ally Heston, SB-Shannon Gavigan, Ava Rudolph.
SOL (5) – Ava Storlazzi 3-1-0-0; Alleigh Waskie 3-0-1-2; Allie Franck 3-0-0-0; Grace Christie 3-0-0-0; Sophia Azzarano 3-0-0-0; Sierra Miller 3-1-1-0; Amariah Knight 3-0-0-0; Marissa Perez 2-2-1-1; Emma Hilton 3-1-2-1-; Hannah DeFinis 0-0-0-0; Molly Moore 0-0-0-0; Bella Nunn 0-0-0-0; TOTALS 26-5-5-4.
2B-Marissa Perez.
|
Delaware County |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Grace Ciochetto (L) |
4.0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
|
Janie Loflan |
1.2 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
|
Marissa Contino |
0.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
SOL |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Bella Nunn (W) |
3.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
Molly Moore |
3.0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
Game 1
CHESTER COUNTY 7, SOL 4
SOL 000 103 0 4-7-3
Chester Co 200 221 x 7-12-1
SOL (4) – Ava Storlazzi 4-1-3-1; Marissa Perez 3-1-1-0; Emma Hilton 3-0-2-1; Amariah Knight 4 0-1-2; Hannah DeFinis 3-0-0-0; Hailey Hernandez 3-0-0-0; Molly Moore 1-1-0-0; Madison Moran 2-0-0-0; Katie Muller 1-0-0-0; Sierra Miller 2-1-0-0; Bella Nunn 0-0-0-0; TOTALS 26-4-7-4.
SB-Ava Storlazzi.
Chester County (7) – Alexa Bojko 4-0-1-0; Riley Wiercinski 3-2-1-1; Ryan Morse 2-1-1-1; Catherein Stone 2-1-1-1; Kyra Neiswender 2-0-1-1; Ashley Forrest 1-0-0-1; Avery Gleason 3-1-2-1-; Ella Hurder 2-0-0-0; Madalyn Dyer 1-0-0-0; Melissa Sabastro 2-1-1-0; Bailey Pysher 1-0-1-0; Steph Alessandro 3-0-1-0; Ashley Stringer 2-0-1-1; Abby Simmers 1-1-1-0; TOTALS 29-7-12.
2B-Ryan Morse, Steph Alessandro, Catherine Stone. HR-Avery Gleason.
|
SOL |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Molly Moore (L) |
4.0 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
|
Madison Moran |
2.0 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
Chester County |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Ella Hurder (W) |
3.0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
|
Madelyn Dyer |
3.0 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
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