The SOL/BAL finished a successful day at the Carpenter Cup with a 2-1 record. The team’s only loss came to Tri-County (5-4) in arguably its best game of the day. Photos provided courtesy of SOL/BAL.
BAL 4, BURLINGTON COUNTY 3 (Game 1)
SOL/BAL 4, PHILADELPHIA CATHOLIC LEAGUE 1 (Game 2)
TRI-CAPE 5, SOL/ BAL 4 (Game 3)
Two practices and two games.
That’s all the time it took for the SOL/BAL to feel like a team in the 2025 Carpenter Cup. In its third game of the day on Wednesday at the University of Pennsylvania, everything felt different. There was a completely different vibe even though the team came up just short.
“We had a bunch of hits the third game, and I feel like we really, really came together,” Upper Dublin junior Kyla Garrison said. “In the first and second game, we were a little behind, but we came back, but in the third game, we came out really energetic. We were cheering a lot, and we really were together. It was fun.”
“We were just having so much fun, especially in that last game,” said New Hope-Solebury sophomore Mabel Klossner, a second-year member of the SOL/BAL. “Our energy was really high.
“This year we were definitely able to mesh faster, and by the end of the day, we were having fun, cheering and truly playing as a team. That will be super important for us going into bracket play.”
Council Rock South freshman Jenna Pesapane echoed similar sentiments.
“It was just so fun,” she said. “We just started cheering. In the first two games, we weren't really cheering. In the third game, we started doing cheers, and we just had so much fun with it. I think it loosened us up, and we had more fun with the game instead of being stressed out or nervous.”
The SOL/BAL finished second in its bracket and will return for the championship round on Monday.
“I hope we go far,” Garrison said. “I feel like we can. I feel like we have a lot of talent on this team, but we have to make sure we don't leave people on base.”
Tri-Cape 5, SOL/BAL 4
The SOL/BAL won its first two games and entered its final game of the day against Tri-Cape in a good position for the playoffs. A pair of walks and a three-run home run spotted Tri-Cape a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. The SOL/BAL spent the rest of the game playing catchup, pulling to within 4-3 and then 5-4 but getting no closer.
I just finished telling the girls - our one loss was, by far, our best game,” said PW coach Mike Perez, head coach of the squad. “All the teams down here are tough, but Tri-Cape is always a really good team. We knew that would be a tough game for us. We gave up a couple walks and a home run in that first inning. But other than that, we held them to three hits.
“Our pitchers did great. They have a dangerous lineup. We got to watch them earlier on one of our breaks, and then they were playing again right after us. They just hit two home runs as we were sitting there during our team discussion. That's a good offense. And we held them to three hits, and we were able to knock out 11 hits.”
The SOL/BAL stranded 11 base runners in the five-inning game.
“If we had one more hit in one of the innings, I think we would have broken the game open,” Pesapane said. “But it was really good. The only thing that happened was the home run.
“Besides that, I thought we played really well. Our defense was really good. Our defense was on point. Our bats were good. We were putting in quality at bats, which was good.”
“The last game was just a hard-fought game,” Klossner said. “We ended up losing the fight in the end, but we fought every inch of the way, and our pitchers and defense played great. We just didn't have the key hit in the right situation to put a few more runs across.”
Rock North freshman Mia Kiskurno’s 3-for-3 effort at the plate led the SOL/BAL.
By the numbers: SOL/BAL: CR South freshman Jenna Pesapane (2-for-3, 2B, 1RBI, 1R), CR North freshman Mia Kiskurno (3-for-3, 1RBI, 1R), Upper Dublin junior Kyla Garrison (2-for-2, 1R), PW junior Anna Powel (1-or-2, 2B).
Key innings: Bottom of first: Trailing 3-0, the SOL/BAL put a run on the board. Kiskurno hit a one-out single, PW freshman Gia Bono was hit by a pitch, and a bunt single by Abington sophomore Mia Lucke loaded the bases. A run scored when CB East sophomore Hailey Helmstetter was safe on an error.
Bottom of second: Garrison singled to left to open the inning, Pesapane lined a one-out single to left, and a single by Kiskurno loaded the bases. Bono’s RBI single made it a 3-2 game.
Bottom of third: Trailing 4-2, CR South freshman Margot McLean singled to lead off the inning, New Hope-Solebury sophomore Mabel Klossner drew a walk, and Garrison singled to center to load the bases for the third straight inning – this time with none out. With one out, Pesapane lofted a sac fly to center, trimming Tri-Cape’s lead to 4-3.
Bottom of fifth: Trailing 5-3, Pesapane hit a two-out single to center and scored when Kiskurno singled to center to make it a 5-4 game.
PW coach Mike Perez on the three-game day: Our goal going in was to keep it as even as possible the first two games and then see where that put us - how the girls were doing, where we were as far as putting us in position to move on to the championship round. We started 2-0. It was nice. It took a little bit of the pressure off. We were able to play around with the lineup a little bit, but we got some great production from a lot of different girls today. I think we've kind of locked our position as a two-seed in our bracket.”
--Bats come alive: “We hit pretty well. We left the bases loaded a couple times – we got a lot of runners on base. We just needed that one extra hit here or there, and it's a totally different game. But I felt we played really well defensively. It's hard because you're mixing up 16 different girls two innings at a time, and you're going in and out of the lineup. And you've got four or five girls playing different positions. It’s hard to gel and really settle in, but I thought the girls did great today.
This was the most fun I've had in my four years doing it. By the third game, the girls looked like they’d been playing together for years. It was really fun to watch, for sure.”
--Playing at UPenn: This field was great. We got here at 7 o'clock. There were a couple little puddles, but this field was in great shape. We were talking about it as coaches. This could almost be for the championship game. The girls thought it was really cool just getting to play on a collegiate field.”
Up next: The top two teams from each of the eight brackets will advance to Monday’s championship round. The SOL/BAL (2-1) finished second to Tri-Cape in its bracket and will play the top seed from Bracket A in Monday’s playoff round (8 am).
Tri-Cape 301 10 5-3-2
SOL/BAL 111 01 4-11-0
SOL/BAL 4, Philadelphia Catholic League 1
The PCL took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the SOL/BAL responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth to earn the win.
Upper Moreland sophomore Delaney Stout and New Hope-Solebury sophomore Mabel Klossner combined for the win in the circle.
By the numbers: SOL/BAL: Delaney Stout (2.0 IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB), Mabel Klossner (3.1 IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 7K)
Pennsbury junior Liv Czerniak (1-for-1, 2B, 1RBI, 1R), CR South freshman Jenna Pesapane (1-for-2, 1RBI, 1R), Gia Bono (1-for-3, 1RBI), CB East sophomore Hailey Helmstetter (1-for-3, 1RBI), Abington sophomore Mia Lucke (1-for-1, 2B)., Anna Powel (1-for-2, 1R)
Key inning: Bottom of fifth: Trailing 1-0, the SOL/BAL erupted for four runs. With one out, Powel singled to center, and with two outs, Czerniak hit an RBI double to left field, knotting the score. Czerniak advanced to third on a passed ball and scored when Pesapane lined a single to left. Bono followed with an RBI single to left, and Helmstetter’s RBI single to right gave the SOL/BAL a 4-1 lead.
PCL 100 000 1-8-1
SOL/BAL 000 040 4-6-0
SOL/BAL 4, Burlington County 3
The SOL/BAL opened up a 2-0 lead in the top of the third only to watch Burlington County even the score in the fourth. The SOL/BAL scored a pair in the fifth to earn the win in the six-inning game.
New Hope-Solebury sophomore Mabel Klossner led the way with two hits – including a double – and three RBIs.
By the numbers: SOL/BAL: New Hope-Solebury sophomore Mabel Klossner (2-for-4, 2B, 3RBI), CR South freshman Jenna Pesapane (1-for-1, 1RBI), CB East sophomore Hailey Helmstetter (1-for-1, 1R), Abington sophomore Mia Lucke (1-for-1, 1R)
Key innings: Top of third: Helmstetter led off the inning with a single, and with one out Bristol junior Amirah Bell drew a walk. With two outs, Klossner roped a double to center field, plating a pair and spotting the SOL/BAL a 2-0 lead.
Top of fifth: With the score deadlocked 2-2, Lucke drew a leadoff walk, and with one out Pennsbury junior Liv Czerniak was safe on an error. Klossner grounded a single to left, plating the go-ahead run, and a two-out RBI single to left by Pesapane gave the SOL/BAL a 4-2 lead.
SOL/BAL 002 020 4-5-0
Burlington Co 000 210 3-7-1
They said:
“This is a fun experience. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I played against some of them in school ball, but playing with them was really fun. We all really got along together. I got to know new people.
“Next year, it will be different because then I'll know them. Now they have seen me - I guess I've played with them enough for some of them to know what I'm throwing.”
---Upper Dublin junior Kyla Garrison (Travel team: Philadelphia Spirit)
“I heard about this since some of the girls on my South team from last year did it. I was just like - why not try out? What's the worst that could happen? I just thought it was cool to be given the opportunity and to play with all the top talent in our area. It was an honor to be able to be a part of it.
“I think we all gelled pretty well. Everyone was really nice. We have great coaches, and the team - we all like each other, so it was good, and (playing at UPenn) was crazy because that's where college girls play, and I was playing there. It was really cool.”
--Council Rock South freshman Jenna Pesapane (Pennsbury Gems 14U National Team)
“It's just been really cool to play side-by-side with the girls that I've played against - stars on other teams that I've played against all year long. It’s cool to see the softball community come together because these girls are all from different travel teams as well. It's a really fun experience - we have such a great group of girls, and it was great today to get to see us play together.”
--New Hope-Solebury sophomore Mabel Klossner (Newtown Rock 16U)
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