Hammons’ strong outing leads Springfield-Montco past Upper Moreland

SPRINGFIELD >> Springfield Township has a young and inexperienced softball team this season, except at one key position.

With Jen Hammons in the circle, the Spartans have a chance every time they take the field. With a senior who’s not afraid of a crucial moment and able to keep calm in a jam, Springfield has done anything but scuffle breaking in new faces all over the diamond.

Wednesday, Hammons showed all her stuff as she powered Springfield to a 4-1 win over visiting Upper Moreland, keeping the Golden Bears off balance and showing poised as she led her team out of a couple big spots.

“I just tell myself they’re not going to beat me at my game,” Hammons said. “They have to hit my best pitches. That’s what I threw and they couldn’t hit them. I tend to get back behind it, throw it as hard as I can and try to blow it by them.”

Hammons struck out 10 Bears, walked two and gave up just five hits while going 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI hitting out of the No. 2 spot. After Upper Moreland (4-1, 2-1 SOL American) scored in the first inning, it didn’t put another run across, mostly because of the Spartans’ (3-1, 3-0 SOL American) senior pitcher.

Facing a no-out bases loaded situation in the third and runners at second and third with no outs in the sixth, Hammons locked down and got three straight outs each time to deny Upper Moreland much-needed runs. The Bears certainly generated their chances to score, but it was the inability to get the big hit off Hammons that cost them.

“Although we made a couple of defensive mistakes to give them a run or two, that game came down to those two innings,” Bears coach Scott Ludlow said. “All credit to Jen, she did a tremendous job and really dug down in those situations, she struck out four of those six batters. Having said that, and knowing what kind of pitcher she is, we have to do a better job shortening things up and getting balls in play.”

Upper Moreland scored on a couple of miscues by the Spartan defense, but Springfield came right back and got two runs in the bottom half of the first. Leadoff hitter and catcher Mary Kate Smith, who reached base in all three plate appearances, scored on an error and Hammons came home on a passed ball for the a lead they wouldn’t give back.

Bears pitcher Amber O’Connor also threw well, striking out seven and allowing only six hits, but three errors hurt, two of them directly leading to runs. She kept the game in reach, but the offense wasn’t able to provide backup.

In the third, Upper Moreland loaded the bases on an infield hit, bunt single and error but Hammons came back to force a strikeout, pop-up and groundout to second from the Bears 2-3-4 hitters to escape a huge jam unscathed.

“I trust her being a leader on this team and her being able to pitch the way she can to get out of that spot,” Spartans co-coach Joshua Ringgold said. “I have the confidence in her. We always tell her to keep her confidence up and she’s been doing a good job with that.”

Hammons noticed the Bears were keying in on her changeup early, so she adjusted her spots to turn it into an effective pitch. The senior, who is playing collegiately at Ursinus, also used her fastball and drop curve to great effect, mixing pitches to Upper Moreland’s aggressive lineup.

Springfield added an insurance run in the bottom of the third when Hammons doubled in Smith and another in the fifth when Smith took advantage of a throwing error to zip home from third base.

Upper Moreland had one more scare left for the Spartans when senior third baseman Allie Miller ripped a leadoff double in the top of the sixth and got to third on an O’Connor single, with the pitcher then swiping second with no outs.

Hammons got the next three batters to all strike out swinging, ending the threat again with no damage done.
“She’s putting the ball in the spots she needs to put them at,” Ringgold said. “Last year she was hanging a lot of balls up and hitters would attack that but now she’s hitting the spots we’ve been telling her to hit.”

With mostly freshmen and sophomores in the lineup, the Spartans are learning by doing with weather limiting practice time and games getting bunched together. Hammons said when they have gotten out to practice, the young players are taking it seriously and working very hard.

The coaches have been a little surprised at the team’s good start, but after Wednesday, the Spartans are tied for the SOL American lead with a 3-0 conference record.

“The upperclassmen are taking the underclassmen under our wing and showing them how to do it,” Hammons said. “They’re fitting in really well.

“I try to give them something to look up to.”

If any Springfield players need an example of what to do, they only have to look to the pitching circle.

“She’s without a doubt one of, if not the best, pitcher in our league,” Ludlow said. “Upper Merion has a really good one (in Olivia Sborlini) too, but Jen is up there. Knowing that, you know you have to play a clean game, you can’t give her too many opportunities and you have to take advantage of what opportunities you get off of her.”