Solanco gained an early upperhand in the section standings with three wins, including a 10-6 victory over the Mules' main rival, Elizabethtown, Friday night. Strange things often occur during Solanco's annual night game visit to E-town and this was no different. The contest, played in a light drizzle which intensified late, featured three umpire conferences and lasted 2 1/2 hours. "It was an interesting night," Solanco coach Brett Miller said. Freshman Abby Heidelbaugh blasted a two-run homer to left-center to cap a four-run second inning outburst. The Mules added four more in the third before the hosts battled back to cut the margin to 8-6 heading into the seventh. Kerri Mauger delivered a two-out, two-run single to plate Maribeth Ault and Madi Sheaffer to pad the lead to 10-6. "That was a huge, productive inning," said Miller. "The situation is a lot easier when you're ahead 10-6 and it showed. Solanco pitcher Kortnee Kreider retired the Bears' 3-4-5 hitters in order to close it out. "She maintained good velocity and pitch command under less than ideal conditions," said Miller. "She showed a lot of mental toughness and maturity."
The coach was impressed with his team's ability to handle the adversity in a difficult environment. "You have to find how to win games in many different ways," he said. "It was an ugly win. You hope the girls gain valuable experience and build upon it." The Mules began the week with wins over Ephrata and Conestoga Valley. The Tuesday, April 1 Ephrata contest was just Solanco's second game of the season. "It sort of felt like two non-league games," Miller said. "You have to stay focused and persevere." Solanco defeated CV 7-2 last Wednesday. In the second, Ault hit a one-out double, Brittany Fisher singled, and Sheaffer had a two-run single to left-center. With one out in the third, Sam Graver doubled, Cait Armstrong walked, and Kreider came through with an RBI single. Armstrong scored on an error to make it 4-0. After CV tallied twice in the fourth, the Mules countered in the fifth with a two-out rally. Ault singled up the middle and Fisher clubbed an RBI triple and scored on a passed ball. The Mules manufactured a run in the sixth. Heidelbaugh doubled and advanced to third when Mauger moved her over with a productive ground ball out. Heidelbaugh then scored on an error. Kreider hurled a two-hitter with seven strikeouts and two walks to notch the win. "CV has a formidable pitcher and anytime you face them you have to be prepared and stay focused," said Miller. "It was a big win. We had some good outs, deep fly balls, which can caused a pitcher and opposing team a little anxiety because they know you're just missing." Solanco upended Ephrata 7-1 Tuesday, April 1. The Mules scored five times in the third. Mauger led off with a double to left and scored on an Emily Parmer single. Armstrong and Kreider had singles and courtesy runner Emma Kreider scored on an Ault double. Fisher followed with another double to make it 5-0. After Ephrata scored an unearned run in the fourth, Solanco tallied twice in the fifth. Ault singled and scored on a Fisher triple. Sheaffer plated Fisher with a groundout, another example of the Mules' batters' ability to advance baseunners even when not reaching base themselves. Kreider worked the first three innings and gave up one hit and two walks while fanning three. Armstrong came on in relief for her first pitching appearance of the season. She yielded two hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts. "It was a good first outing for Cait," Miller said. "She's been working at it. She needs to improve her velocity and command and she's working hard." "It was a good week." Miller said. "We scored some runs, but there are still things we need to work on. "We continue to yield runs we just shouldn't." Comments are closed.
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