Giving Chase
Boyertown pounds PV, keeps pace in playoff race
GRATERFORD >> Without Abby Wild, the game got wild.
Good for Boyertown, which aimed to stay in reach of a Pioneer Athletic Conference playoff spot entering Friday’s game; not so good for a Perkiomen Valley squad that aimed for a No. 1 seed.
Boyertown’s bats took advantage of a Vikings squad without their ace, pounding out 13 hits and seven runs through the first four innings en route to a 7-2 victory over the Vikings Friday afternoon.
The win is huge for a Bears (9-3 PAC) squad, which has pulled within a half game of Owen J. Roberts for the fourth and final PAC playoff spot with a date against the Wildcats looming Monday night. Kody Streeter led the way with a 3-for-4 effort with two triples and two RBI as four other Bears finished with two hits in the victory.
“It was huge for us to stay tied with Owen J.,” Streeter said. “We did really well stringing hits together, something that we had a little bit of a problem with in the past. Overall, we played really, really well.”
The 13-hit outburst was more than enough to supplement the pitching effort of Allison Melahn, who turned in a dazzling performance in the circle. Melahn went the distance, striking out two while allowing four hits in picking up the win. She cruised early, retiring the side in order in the first two frames before running into trouble in the fifth. She settled down, escaping a basesloaded no-out situation with only one run allowed.
“I have a really good defense behind me,” Melahn said. “I know
that even if they make contact with the ball, I have a defense behind me that can and will make the plays. That allows to be comfortable out there.”
“I thought Allison did really well,” Boyertown firstyear head coach Kim Musselman said. “I feel like she was getting squeezed a little bit once it got into the middle innings, but that went the same way for both teams. She adjusted, did what she needed to do and the defense made some tremendous plays behind her.”
Jessie Oltman led Perkiomen Valley with two hits in the Vikings’ second consecutive loss. Once in the thick of the chase for the PAC playoffs No. 1 seed, Perkiomen Valley (10-3 PAC) now stands tied with Owen J. Roberts for third and two games back of Spring-Ford with three PAC games remaining (Perkiomen Valley travels to Spring-Ford Monday night at 7 p.m.)
A bright spot in the loss, however, was the pitching of Katie Hurd. Coming up from the JV game across campus, the 5-6 sophomore finished out the last 3-2/3 innings, allowing only three hits and no runs while striking out two.
“That was a very nice job by Hurd,” Perkiomen Valley head coach Dan McLaughlin said. “This was the first time she’s really pitched with us so she was probably nervous going out there, but she did an excellent job going out for us when we needed it. She gave us a chance, which we couldn’t take advantage of because we couldn’t hit the ball, but she stepped up when we needed her.”
The run differential was just too much ground for PV to make up.
Boyertown got it rolling in the first. Sarah Reinert led off with a single before coming home a Streeter triple to dead center. Kylie Herzler (two hits) then brought her in with a sac fly to make it 2-0. The Bears added one run in the second before adding another two apiece in the third and fourth, Streeter and Hertzler again doing damage with a triple and double, respectively.
Alyssa Acker finished with two hits and a double with Reinert and Lauren Ferguson each adding two hits. Megan Kovacs tripled in the second.