Familiarity gives Caggiano, Springfield an edge
RIDLEY TWP. — Springfield’s Jenny Caggiano had a good approach at the plate Thursday afternoon against Ridley ace Leigh Ann Jenkins.
She had the scouting report, too.
“We play together, me and Leigh Ann. We’re on the same (club) team,’ Caggiano said. “The person who they have calling pitches, Mr. (Tom) Grogan, he’s my coach. That was a little bit of a help; I catch Leigh Ann a lot.’
Caggiano and two of her Springfield teammates, shortstop Tori DePietro and center fielder Taylor Winkelman, are on the same 18U Delco Rage roster with Ridley’s Jenkins and Heather Bogardus.
At the dish, the junior catcher may have had a slight advantage facing the flame-throwing Jenkins. Caggiano sparked Springfield’s offense with a two-run single and finished with three RBIs in a 10-2 victory.
The Cougars (9-0, 7-0) won the battle of Central League unbeatens. The reigning PIAA Class AAA champions handled the assignment with aplomb, while the Green Raiders (6-1, 6-1), who are vying to reach Springfield’s level of success and stability, struggled in all aspects.
“They’re a really, really good team. They’re the state champs and it shows,’ Ridley coach Chris Bush said. “We made mistakes and they made us pay.’
Of course, the bulk of Ridley’s woes can be attributed to All-Delco pitcher Courtney Scarpato, who had a perfect game brewing through six innings. Prior to the seventh, one Ridley batter — (Jenkins, who flew out to center) — had managed to hit the ball out of the infield.
Taylor Eubanks lined a single up the middle to spoil Scarpato’s pefect game bid to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Later in the frame, Alissa Higgins hit a flare over the first-base bag to drive home both of her team’s runs.
Apparently, none of the Cougars were aware that Scarpato hadn’t allowed a baserunner through six innings.
“I didn’t even know it until they got their first hit and the guy doing the book said, ‘ Ah, well, there goes the perfect game,” coach Todd Odgers said.
“That’s never the goal,’ added Caggiano. “You’re just focused on one pitch at a time.’
Jenkins, who twirled a one-hitter Wednesday at Conestoga, struck out five of the first nine batters she faced. However, her command eluded her as the game wore on as she issued six free passes and uncorked three wild pitches. The sophomore finished with nine punchouts.
“She throws hard,’ said the senior Scarpato, who was the every-day hurler for the Cougars in their postseason run to a state title last spring. “If you know it’s a ball, stay off of it. If you know she has a rise and it’s above your hands, you just don’t swing. We just had to be patient with her.’
Springfield executed smallball and was aggressive on the base paths. Winkelman doubled in the first inning, stole third base and scored on a wild pitch to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. They took advantage of two Ridley errors and other miscues.
“We kind of have an aggressive attitude,’ Odgers said. “We play smart and we take advantage when it’s there. … “We respect everybody we play. We know that if we have a bad game, we can lose to anybody. But we know if we play well, we can beat anyone.’
Springfield tacked on three runs in the top of the seventh when Ashley Delgado smacked a double to the gap in left-center and came around to score on a single off the bat of Nikki DePietro. The Cougars scored at least one run in six of seven innings.
