Perkiomen Valley stays perfect with win over Upper Perkiomen
PERKIOMEN TWP. — With Friday’s 6-2, Senior Day win over Upper Perkiomen, Perkiomen Valley’s softball team has now gone 16 games this season without a loss.
The Vikings are happy, their fans are over the moon and there doesn’t seem to be much drama ahead until the Pioneer Athletic Conference playoffs begin.
The stretch of victories has seemed so easy, as PV has racked up win after win without much difficulty.
But Vikings head coach Dan McLaughlin said the easy part has only come over the last month of the season.
“Lately, it’s been very easy coaching this team,’ McLaughlin said. “But over the first third of the year it was challenging.
“But once everybody knew and was settled in their role, it’s been very easy. We have strong leadership, a lot of talent and team unity.’
Unity that junior catcher Noelle McCullough said has been a while in developing.
“We’ve been playing together for so long,’ she said, “we know how to pick each other up when we’re down.
“There’s never a bad moment with these girls. We don’t fight, there’s no drama.’
And there doesn’t seem to be any bad moments on the immediate horizon.
“They’re very solid,’ said Upper Perkiomen head coach Walter Schmidt. “They field the ball, they complement each other, offensively and defensively.
“They’re just a good, experienced and disciplined team.’
Starting their four seniors Friday, the Vikings sacrificed some offensive pop – and it showed early.
They got a first-inning run on Kelsey Impink’s RBI single, but stayed in front with their defense.
Catcher McCullough made a nice running catch of a foul pop just a step in front of the batting-cage screen with two on and two out in the third.
Pitcher Emily Oltman triggered a 1-3-2 double play when the Tribe bunted after Allysa Sullivan’s leadoff triple in the fourth.
Then, in the bottom of the fourth, PV made its move, with Ana Bruni chasing home two runs with a two-out triple to left. Rachel Helverson then singled home Bruni and wound up circling the bases when the ball got through the center fielder.
Up 5-0, the Vikings tacked on one more run in the fifth when Brenna Sermarini’s ground out chased home a run following McCullough’s leadoff triple.
Oltman went the distance in the circle for the home team, allowing just five hits, including Olivia Young’s triple and Karlee Fretz’s two-run homer in the seventh.
With 16 down, the Vikings have a regular season to wrap up before the true tale of their magical season is told.
“Our goal is to go further than we did last year,’ said McLaughlin, whose club was beaten in last year’s PAC semifinals and then ousted in the opening round of the district playoffs. “The challenge right now is keeping these guys interested, which isn’t hard because we’re getting everybody’s best game.’
The Tribe, meanwhile, has no seniors and only three juniors and shows promise for the future.
“Both of our pitchers are freshmen and our catcher is a sophomore,’ Schmidt said. “I see a lot of progress. They’re starting to understand the game, and they’re giving us a good effort consistently.’
But the PAC story for the year is still the Vikings, and they’re showing no signs of cracking under pressure.
“All of our coaches tell us our goofiness is our best trait,’ McCullough said. “But I think it’s our discipline. We’re a disciplined team.’
