by Bud Hart Solanco's varsity softball team picked up three wins this past week, the one being a gem thanks to an outstanding pitching performance by sophomore Hanna Phillips. On Monday, April 17, Solanco traveled to Lititz where they faced the Warwick Lady Warriors. They returned to the pasture with a 7-1 victory.
Abby Heidelbaugh led off the first inning with a single. Kara McClune advanced the starting centerfielder with a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball advanced both. Heidelbaugh scored on a Randi Rambo fielder’s choice for Solanco’s first run. Warwick tied the score in their half of the inning, but the Mules regained the lead in the top of the second, one they never relinquished. Alyssa Henretty doubled with two outs and Kate Sheaffer singled to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Solanco broke it open in the fourth inning when Alli McDowell led off with a double advancing to third on a Henretty single. Henretty stole second. Sheaffer scored McDowell on a single, and Heidelbaugh followed with a single scoring Henretty. With two outs, the number three hitter, Rambo, drove in Sheaffer and Heidelbaugh with a two-run single. The scoreboard now read Solanco 6, Warwick 1. The Mules ended the scoring in the top of the seventh when McClune singled. Tori Lawson, pinch running for McClune, stole second and scored on a Rambo single, her third RBI of the evening. “You need to win games in different ways and this was a solid team effort both defensively and offensively to gain an important win,” said Coach Brett Miller. “We had hitting up and down the lineup against a good quality pitcher.” Miller complimented both Henretty and McDowell who set up scores with timely doubles. “Both McDowell and Henretty have been swinging the bats very well and making contributions to the team,” said Miller. Phillips limited the Warriors to five base hits, one earned run, walked five and struck out eight. Hosting McCaskey on Wednesday, April 19, the home crowd and visitors were treated to a pitching masterpiece as Phillips threw a complete no-hit perfect game, no runs, no hits, and no errors. On the way to victory, the sophomore windmiller struck out 15. “Following the Warwick game and then a focused practice on Tuesday, we went into this game looking for Hanna to elevate her game in a big way,” said Miller. “With a perfect no-hit game I’d say she elevated her game in a big way.” The Mules took the lead in the bottom of the third when Sheaffer led off with a walk advanced on a Heidelbaugh single and took third on a Red Tornado error. With the bases loaded, Rambo worked the McCaskey pitcher for a RBI walk. Liz Mowrer put an exclamation point on the score sheet when she blasted a base clearing triple. Up to the plate stepped Kayla May and she sent one deep for back-to-back triples, Mowrer scoring. Lindsey Lane singled home May and Solanco owned a 5-0 lead. The Mules closed out the scoring in the sixth. McClune doubled with one out. Rambo plated McClune with a RBI single. Mowrer walked. Lawson, pinch running for Mowrer, advanced to third with Rambo scoring. Lane drove in Lawson with a sacrifice fly to make it a 9-0 final. Phillips was dominating inside the circle. She struck out eight in the first four innings, adding seven consecutive K’s in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. The game ended with a harmless pop fly to right. “She made nearly every pitch important and with purpose,” added the coach. “She had excellent control and velocity in the strike zone, which got us in a positive pitch count and most importantly – no walks.” McDowell had the best day of her varsity softball career on Friday, April 21, missing the cycle by a double. The junior designated player blasted a three-run home run, a two-run triple and a single going three-for-five, with a five runs batted in, as the Solanco Mules stampeded the Cedar Crest Falcons, 14-0. Both Heidelbaugh and Sheaffer had some good offensive numbers as well. Heidelbaugh, the senior centerfielder, went three-for-five and Sheaffer batted for a .750 average on the afternoon going three-for-four. The Mules totaled 17 hits, scoring runs in the first (4), second (3), third (1), fifth (1) and seventh (5) innings. They committed no errors on the field. They also benefitted from seven Falcon miscues. Phillips was exceptional inside the circle, limiting the home team to three hits and striking out six. Comments are closed.
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