McMenamin powers Delco into second round
PHILADELPHIA » Haley McMenamin looked hitter-ish all day at the 16th annual Carpenter Cup Softball Classic at FDR Park Monday.
The rising Ridley High senior likes going to the plate and seeing the defense move in a few steps. As a lefthanded hitter, McMenamin can sometimes be the subject of bad assumptions.
Not all leftys are slap hitters or bunters, but teams sometimes will think that McMenmanim is that type of hitter. Then those teams find out how wrong they are.
Sure, she can drop down a bunt when called upon, but McMenamin is a pure slugger who can do plenty of damage. She showcased her sweet power stroke for Delaware County Monday.
In her team’s second game in pool play, McMenamin proved to be the hero in a 6-3 win over Berks/LancasterLebanon. She crushed a pitch to the outfield fence in the top of the seventh inning, driving home the go-ahead runs. McMenamin raced to third base with a stand-up triple.
“That’s the one thing I love about being a lefty,” McMenamin said. “I’m a little shorter than everyone else and they all play me up, thinking I’m going to slap, and I love putting it over their head and just showing them what I can do. And when I put it over their head and they start to move back, I can always drop a bunt, too.”
In other words, McMenamin can do whatever she feels is necessary with the bat. Good luck trying to stop her.
McMenamin finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs against Berks/LL. All three of her hits, including a liner
up the middle for an RBI single, had serious exit velocity.
“In the beginning of the day, I actually didn’t start off too hot,” McMenamin said. “I knew I had to put everything away in that last at bat because it was the one that I needed to get my teammates over on the bases. I just knew I had to move them over.”
McMenamin sealed Delco’s second win of the day when she tracked down a deep fly in center to end the game. A middle infielder at Ridley, McMenamin showed she can cover a lot of ground, no matter which position she plays.
Delco started pool play Monday with an 18-6 drubbing of the Philadelphia Catholic League. After Delco defeated Berks/LL, it went right into its third game against New Jersey power
Tri-Cape. Delco trailed 1-0 before play was halted in the sixth inning due to inclement weather. The game was called, handing Delco its only loss in pool play.
Delco is scheduled to play in the single-elimination round Wednesday at 9 a.m. against a team to be determined.
In the win over Berks/LL, Delco received solid pitching from Garnet Valley’s Anna Sidlowski and Haverford’s Emma Taylor, who is fresh off a run to the PIAA Class 5A championship game last Thursday. Sidlowski scattered three hits and two runs while striking out four in four innings of work. Taylor racked up four Ks in the final three innings, while allowing a run on one hit.
Ridley’s Mary DeFera set the tone from the leadoff
spot, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Haverford’s Kerri McCallum went 2-for-3 with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. Sidlowski legged out an infield hit and Chichester’s Marisa Taylor singled and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh.
Penncrest catcher Riley Signor belted a home run to help Delco in its win over the PCL. The rising junior walked and singled in Delco’s game with Tri-Cape and did an excellent job handling the pitchers.
“It’s been an awesome experience,” Signor said. “I get to learn more about the players that I play against in high school on a personal level, instead of just recognizing them. It’s pretty cool. … I always make sure I give it 110 percent because I know I’m
not just playing for myself, I’m playing for teammates. If I’m not always playing for them, then there’s no point in playing at all.”
Each team plays three games in pool play, with the top two teams from all four brackets (A, B, C and D) advancing to Wednesday’s single-elimination round. The tournament is scheduled to conclude Wednesday, barring inclement weather or other reasons for delays.
The Philadelphia Catholic League and Inter-Ac League/ Bicentennial Athletic League squads went winless Monday.
After falling to Delco by double digits in its first game, the PCL lost 6-5 to TriCape and trailed Burlington County, 7-4, when rain suspended action in the fourth inning.
Archbishop Carroll’s Gianna Liciardello, Maya Preston and Lauren Martin, and Bonner-Prendergast’s Kellie Martin, were among the rostered on the PCL team.
The Inter-Ac/BAL suffered losses to Olympic Colonial (6-2), Lehigh Valley (12-7) and Burlington County (7-5).
Olivia Cella and Karen Xiao, both of Episcopal Academy, were the only players from a Delco school to make the team.