Pennsbury mashes past Conwell-Egan in season opener
FAIRLESS HILLS, PA. >> With one of the fastest teams he’s ever had, veteran Pennsbury High School softball coach Frank McSherry said during the pre-season it was largely going to be a matter of how well the speedsters could get on base.
Well, this certainly did not prove to be a problem Tuesday as Pennsbury banged out 15 hits and stole six bases en route to an 11-6 win over Conwell-Egan in the season opener for both teams.
Opening its season in style, Pennsbury poured across six runs in the bottom of the first and although Conwell-Egan was able to cut into the Falcon lead at times, the game had already been pretty much decided right there.
In that first, the big hit was a threerun triple down the right field line by No. 9 batter Pressley Foote. Earlier in the inning, Taylor Askey also singled home a run after Conwell-Egan opened the door with a double error on one play.
While most of Pennsbury’s hits were singles, this was not the case for No. 3 batter Sam Raub. One of the few power hitters who did graduate from last year’s top-ranked team in the area, Raub ended up with a double and triple.
Pennsubry also got two hits from leadoff batter Liv Czerniak, pitcher Laney Freiband, Anna Evanchik and Hannah DeFinis against Eagle senior Ahlana Sesar, who pitched Conwell-Egan to the PIAA Class 2A state championship game a year ago.
Although Freiband got the win with five strikeouts, Conwell-Egan also hit the ball well with nine safeties and a lot of hard outs.
In the third inning, Conwell-Egan scored three runs with the key hit being a two-run single by Sesar after Pennsbury intentionally walked Katey Brennan, who was The Trentonian’s All-Area Player of the Year last season.
This was just a preview of what was to come as Pennsbury ended up walking Brennan intentionally three straight times with runners on base and first base open.
Just call it the ultimate show of respect, especially when you consider the last thing the Falcons wanted was extra
Conwell-Egan runners on base.
Whatever, Conwel-Egan also got a big game from its No. 9 batter as Angelina Pandolfi went 3-for-3. One of those was a home run in which outfielder Bella Morales went all out and crashed into the fence. Earlier in the game, Morales made an acrobatic diving catch on a line drive to right.
For its part, Conwell-Egan also got two hits from lead-off batter Molly Milewski and Cecilia McBeth for a team that is on the rise with a lot of young talent and a strong freshman class.
Considering Brennan only got to swing the bat once, Sandy Hart’s team also had to be encouraged with its offensive start. On this day, however, it was not enough to match Pennsbury’s offensive production.
“That was a good start for us,’’ said McSherry. “We didn’t have very many (preseason) reps like everyone else, but to get 15 hits is something we are really happy about.’’