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PHILADELPHIA – Kait Schilling laughed as she recounted her initial impression of William Tennent’s Ashley Alden, who at 6-0 is an imposing presence on the softball diamond.
“She scared the (daylights) out of me,” the Pennsbury junior said of her teammate on the SOL National-Bicentennial squad. “She scared me whenever I pitched to her, and she’s the nicest person ever.”
For her part, Alden admits she misjudged Neshaminy pitcher Sarah McGowan.
“When I first played against her – she’s very hard to hit off of, and she’s so intense, and I thought that carried over to her personality, but she has a great personality,” Alden said. “She’s really a great girl, and she’s very nice.”
Not far away, Neshaminy’s Brittany Guidos pointed to Schilling as the pitcher she least enjoyed facing.
“For my whole team, Kait is the pitcher we don’t want to see, and here I am playing with her, cheering her on,” Guidos said. “Usually I’m screaming for someone to get a hit against her.
“It’s also weird to see my coach (Kathleen Houser) and their coach (Frank McSherry) – they get along great, and they’re good together. They kind of balance each other out.”
It was that kind of day on Wednesday at FDR Park, site of the 2009 Carpenter Cup. Rivals were teammates, and enemies had become friends.
“It’s really fun,” Schilling said. “You picture these people to be one way when you’re playing them, and they’re completely different when you get to know them.”
Council Rock North’s Chloe Pinto offered similar sentiments.
“It’s actually very different than what I thought it was going to be,” she said. “I thought I was going to come into a situation where – after playing against them – it would be hard to embrace it and hard to make friends, but all these girls are so nice.
“We all just want the same thing – we all want to win games together.”
Alden acknowledged that her impression of an entire team changed as a result of her Carpenter Cup experience.
“Bristol is just amazing, and to actually get to know these girls – you can’t really read a book by its cover,” she said. “When you get to know them, it’s so cool. They’re such great girls. It’s great to make new friends.”
The SOL-BAL won its first two games on Wednesday – downing Delaware County 4-3 and Chester County 8-3 – before falling to Delaware South 6-5 in the double elimination tournament.
In its opener on Wednesday, the SOL-BAL needed a late rally to down Delaware County, which opened up a 3-0 lead after three innings.
The SOL-BAL answered with four runs in the fourth. Alden got things started with a double, and the SOL-BAL received singles from McGowan (RBI), Bristol’s Brooke Dugger, New Hope’s Chelsa Yanishevsky (RBI) and Bristol’s Ashley Cantiello (RBI). Yanishevsky scored on a double steal to give the SOL-BAL a 4-3 lead.
McGowan earned the win while Bristol’s Kiersten Cain, who worked three scoreless innings in relief, notched the save.
In game two against Chester County, the SOL-BAL jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Alden, who had three hits, got things started with a two-out single to left. McGowan and Cain (RBI) followed with singles, and a second run crossed the plate on a costly error.
Pinto’s two-out double in the second was followed by an RBI single from Yanishevsky to put the SOL-BAL on top 3-0.
“It is really nice to come into this situation,” Pinto said. “We’re playing against tough teams, and I know these girls will pick me up whenever I need it. I know how talented they are, and it’s really fun.”
The SOL-BAL’s lead grew to 8-0 after a five-run third that featured singles by Schilling, Pennsbury’s Kelsi Bunda, Truman’s Tiffany Koenig and Pinto (RBI) as well as a booming two-run triple to deep center by Alden.
It’s a safe bet no one is enjoying the tournament more than Alden. The Tennent sophomore, who has a torn labrum and frayed rotator cuff, is scheduled to undergo surgery on July 6, and she only recently received the green light to play.
“The first doctor told me I had to stop as soon as possible, so I actually sat out for a little, but that was killing me,” she said. “I went to get a second opinion, and he said I could play up until the surgery.
“I’m just trying to make the best of the situation. It’s extremely fun. I’m loving every minute of it. I don’t want it to end.”
The SOL-BAL’s eight early runs loomed large when Downingtown West ace Caroline Raymond took the mound and allowed only a pair of walks in four shutout innings. She fanned seven.
One of the interesting aspects of the tournament is that – out of necessity – players find themselves in new positions. Schilling, a pitcher for the Falcons, saw action at shortstop.
“It was different,” she said. “It was an experience.
“I didn’t mind doing it. It’s actually fun because you never know in college where they’ll want you to play or what they’ll want you to do.”
Guidos, an outfielder, found herself playing second base.
“I don’t know how that happened,” she said. “But I’m glad I can help the team out.
“It’s still catching the ball, throwing the ball – it’s still the same stuff, but I’m used to my outfield stance, standing up with my feet apart. It’s weird.”
In game three, Delaware South scored three runs in the third, but the SOL-BAL answered with four in the fifth. Highlights included doubles by Cantiello and Pinto (RBI) as well as a single by Taylor Hunt. The SOL-BAL also capitalized on a pair of costly errors.
The SOL-BAL added an unearned run in the sixth to go on top 5-3, but a disastrous seventh that saw the SOL-BAL commit several costly errors, allowing Delaware South to plate three unearned runs to eke out the 6-5 win.
The SOL-BAL will return to action on Monday at 1 p.m. with its opponent yet to be determined.
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