Pennsbury shakes off rust, advances to quarters
FAIRLESS HILLS, PA. »In wrestling parlance it’s known as the blood round and so it was do-or-die for the Pennsbury High softball team in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A Tournament on Wednesday.
Win and the Falcons would assure themselves of a berth in the state tournament with either a victory in Friday’s quarterfinals or in the first round of the consolation bracket. Lose and it would be time for five outstanding seniors who are all committed to college programs to hand in their uniforms.
Well, it can be reported top-ranked Pennsbury (20-1) is very much alive and well after disposing of Coatesville, 5-1, in the round of 16. Next up will be a home quarterfinal on Friday against the survivor of Wednesday’s game between O.J. Roberts and Garnet Valley.
After receiving a bye as the top seed, Pennsbury hadn’t played in a week and the rust seemed to show at times. The Falcons did pound out nine hits, but they were never able to really explode at the plate as they have so often done this season.
After missing the last game with a concussion, Pennsbury senior Ainsley McClure had an even longer layoff and also wasn’t at her best. McClure did end up striking out 14 batters, but Coatesville was able to hit the ball hard at times. This included a home run by Paige Wilkins in the fifth inning.
By that point Pennsbury had built up a five-run lead after scoring three runs in
the third and two more in the fourth inning.
The third started with a hard double by lead-off batter Caitlyn Martell off the left field fence, followed by a bunt single by Quinn McGonigle. Rowan Mulholland then got the first run home with a sac fly before Sam Raub blasted a tworun bomb way over the left field fence.
In the fourth inning, Pressley Foote got it going wth a double. She then scored on a squeeze by Martell. From there McGonigle singled to left and Mulholland drove in the final Pennsbury run with a triple down the right field line.
It was a well played game with neither team committing an error. Coatesville (15-7) did have some chances, but either Martell or the defense always had
the answer.
For instance Coatesville had a runner on first with two outs in the fourth inning, but Mulholland picked her off on a throw to second baseman Ava Storlazzi covering first base. The Coatesville first base coach fell asleep on this play and should have noticed that before McClure even threw the pitch Storlazzi was already only 15 feet from the first base bag.
Mullholland and Raub each finished with two hits and two RBIs. McGonigle also had two hits and coupled with the production by Martell, it was a good day for the top four batters in the Pennsbury order.