Neshaminy edged Pennsbury in a classic National Conference showdown. Check out all of Wednesday’s SOL results.
NESHAMINY 4, PENNSBURY 3 (8 innings)
Lauren Quense plays the game of softball on her own terms.
If the mound isn’t to her liking, the Redskins’ junior ace will take steps to make sure it is, and it’s not unusual to see Quense – better known as ‘Q’ to her teammates - kicking up some dirt in the circle until the footing is to her liking.
It’s the same when Quense steps to the plate, and she admits she may have called time once too often in her final at-bat of the game to lead off the eighth inning.
“I actually got yelled at for doing that (by the umpire), and it was understandable,” Quense said. “It was like the wrong timing – I would get in and she (pitcher Val Buehler) wouldn’t be ready. You want to own the pace back there.
“That is my mound when I’m on the field, and that is my plate. You’ve got to own it.”
Quense owned both the mound and the plate on Wednesday night in a game played in front of packed sidelines at Bristol Borough Field, ultimately lining a 2-1 pitch to center field for her second hit of the night to open the eighth.
“I knew I had to get on,” Quense said. “I was the leadoff, I was starting it, so I needed to get on one way or the other, and I wasn’t going to let her (Buehler) dominate me.”
Quense was replaced by courtesy runner Jen Walker, who moved up to second on teammate Laura Altenburger’s groundout.
“Before the inning started, me and (Lauren) went up to each other and said, ‘This is it. This is our inning. We’re going to do this,’” Altenburger said. “We went out there and did it.”
The Redskins ‘did it’ when Walker, who moved up to third on another groundout, scored on a rare wild pitch by Buehler.
“This is awesome,” Quense said of the win. “We have been looking forward to this game, and I can honestly say we have prepared mentally for this game.
“This is what we looked forward to, and we knew it was going to be a good game. Right now it just feels awesome. We finally came out on top.”
The Redskins’ preparation included pep talks from teachers – including football coach Mark Schmidt – as well as a team meeting on Tuesday.
“We just sat down and talked through everything with everyone,” Quense said. “The returning varsity players said to the freshmen coming in, ‘Listen guys, you have to treat this game like every other game.’ Mental stuff, keep them in the game.
“Today we got a couple of speeches from a couple of teachers that really helped us out. It was awesome. It feels like our whole school was intact with our softball team. There are so many people here tonight supporting us, supporting Pennsbury.”
Altenburger gave the Redskins’ faithful something to cheer about in the bottom of the first inning when – after Quense lined a one-out single to right – she ripped a two-run blast over the left field fence, spotting the Redskins a quick 2-0 lead.
“It was an inside pitch,” Altenburger said. “She throws always outside, always outside, and I knew I was going to get an inside pitch at one point in this game, and I took it.
“I saw it coming, and I turned on it. It felt awesome. The sound on the bat and just knowing you put your team on top. This could be the last time we ever play this team. It felt great.”
“That was huge,” Neshaminy coach Dave Chichiletti said of Altenburger’s home run. “It put us in the lead, and it was a huge moment in the game.
“It was important to get the lead. They battled back and had us down, but we refused to lose.”
The Falcons certainly didn’t go down quietly. Taylor Bolterdorf, who slapped a single over third to lead off the third inning, scored on a groundout by cleanup batter Suzanne Swanicke, cutting the ‘Skins lead in half (2-1).
In the fourth inning, Pennsbury’s Farryl Groder got things started with a one-out infield single to second. Bolterdorf drew a two-out walk, and Mackenzie Obert – who had several highlight reel defensive plays at shortstop - roped a double to the fence in right field, plating a pair and giving the Falcons a 3-2 lead.
The Falcons had a chance to add to their lead in the fifth, but with runners on first and third and two outs, Redskin second baseman Anna Luff robbed Groder of a base hit with a leaping grab of a screaming line drive in the hole.
“I honestly couldn’t thank my defense enough,” Quense said. “I might not have been on my ‘A’ game, but everyone in that field – every single at-bat, they were talking to me.
“It was awesome. I felt like I was totally interacting with my teammates. Honestly, I give it all to my team, all to my team. It was a team effort tonight, and it was great.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Dana Knapp opened the inning with a triple to center, breaking a streak that saw Buehler retire 10-of-11 batters. Knapp scored on Quense’s sacrifice fly to left, knotting the score and setting the stage for extra innings.
“We never got our heads down,” Altenburger said. “We did not give up. We knew we wanted this more, and we were not going to give up. We worked so hard for this.”
“It was back and forth the whole game, and finally, we got a bounce to go our way,” Chichiletti said. “It feels great, but I anticipate seeing that team in a few weeks for another extra-inning game.”
The Falcons held a 9-5 advantage in hits but stranded nine base runners.
“Our kids did a great job,” Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry said. “Val pitched a great game, and their kid pitched a great game.
“It was just one of those things. We didn’t execute when we needed to. If we had done that, things might have been a little different. We had some big-time opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage of it, and (Quense) pitched out of it, so you have to give her credit. We put the pressure on, but we could only push across the two.”
The game was not without some controversy. In the pivotal eighth inning, Buehler asked for a different softball, suggesting she was not comfortable with the ball she was using, but her request was turned down.
“It was a new ball,” McSherry said. “She asked for a (another) ball, and he wouldn’t let her. All night long he was giving balls back to the pitcher – the ball they wanted, and for some strange reason, that one he refused to.”
The Falcons, who are guaranteed at least a share of the conference crown, close out the league season with a 13-1 mark. They are 17-2 overall.
The Redskins are 12-1 in league play (17-1 overall), and their fate will be determined by the outcome of Thursday’s game against Council Rock North. The two teams were deadlocked 1-1 when the game was halted with one out in the top of the fifth because of the weather.
“Tomorrow is going to be a good game too,” Quense said. “We’re coming out the same way, treating them the same way.”
“Tonight’s over,” Altenburger said. “But tonight should set the tone for tomorrow’s game.”
PENNRIDGE 10, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 (6 innings)
Paige DeCew tossed a six-inning shutout to earn the win on the mound, scattering five hits while walking none and fanning four. The Lady Rams played flawless defense behind DeCew. It was DeCew’s ground rule double with one out in the sixth that plated a pair and brought an early end to the game. DeCew finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
Brooke Labs was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Alison Horne was 2-for-3. Lisa Bahmueller was 1-for-3 with a double, and Morgan Labs also was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
The Patriots threatened in the third inning, but the Rams came up with a big out when – on Allie Chase’s single and a Ram runner threatening to score – Emily Mayhew threw a strike to Emily Hoffmann at home. Hofmann gunned the ball to third where Brooke Labs tug out the base runner trying to get back to the bag.
Jayme Ziegler was charged with the loss on the mound.
The Rams are 6-6 in league play (9-9 overall) while the Patriots fell to 6-7 in the league (8-9 overall).
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 9, UPPER DUBLIN 0
The Colonials scored early and often in Wednesday’s win, plating a single run in the first and two more in the second. They led 5-0 after adding two in the third. They closed out the scoring with one run in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth.
Nicole Winterbottom earned the win on the mound, allowing four hits while walking seven and fanning three. Kristin Ganderton absorbed the loss.
For the Colonials, Ryan Haney was 2-for-4 with a double and run scored. Susan Janfrancisco was 3-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and one run scored, and Corrine Watson added a double.
Upper Dublin was led by Rachel Hyman’s 2-for-4 effort, which included a double.
While the Flying Cardinals closed out their league season with a 4-8 mark (8-10 overall), the Colonials improved to 5-6 in the league (5-9 overall).
PENNSBURY 3, ROBBINSVILLE 1 (10 innings) (Saturday, May 12)
Playing in front of a crowd of over 500 fans in Mercer County, Pennsbury's second extra-inning affair in New Jersey this year went better than its first as the Falcons (17-1) beat defending Group II state champion Robbinsville, 3-1, in 10 innings Saturday night.
Pennsbury scored in the first when Mackenzie Obert led off the game with a single and eventually scored when Lauren Cregan walked with the bases loaded and two outs. With the international tiebreaker in effect in the 10th, Pennsbury got RBI doubles from Christina Bascara and Michelle George against Robbinsville ace Lauren Fischer.
The only run Pennsbury junior pitcher Val Buehler surrendered was in the fifth. Buehler, who pitched a seven-hitter and struck out four, worked her way out of several jams, including a bottom of the seventh in which Robbinsville had the winning run on second with no outs.
"They were as tough as team as we'll play all year,'' said Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry after a game that took nearly three hours because of extra innings and TV timeouts. "To beat them is a great win for us.''
Pennsbury's lone loss this year was in eight innings to New Jersey's Immaculate Heart, which is still undefeated.
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