Even in a loss, Perkiomen Valley goes out winners
LYONS — They walked down the right-field line to retrieve their items in the dugout, a line of Perkiomen Valley faithful lined the fence and offered up one last round of applause for a team that will become a part of Viking lure.
The grueling stretch through the district and state playoffs had finally come to an end — albeit not in the fashion they envisioned in a 5-3 loss to District 11 champion Parkland — but as the applause grew louder and the Lyons Field scoreboard turned off, any evidence of a loss was eliminated.
Even in a loss, Perkiomen Valley went out winners.
This group of Vikings set out to go further than any team in school history.
They did that and more.
They became the first undefeated PAC-10 champion since Great Valley’s 1999 squad, made the District 1-AAAA playoffs for the first time in school history, made the PIAA playoffs for the first time and likewise, won their first-ever state playoff game.
Twenty-five wins and two losses.
The losses won’t be remembered, but the wins will be, especially for departing seniors Shannon Beattie and Brenna Sermarini who donned the Vikings’ orange and black for the last time.
Misty-eyed in face of the end of their careers, the two were quick to point out what they’re going to remember as they enter their college years, Beattie to play field hockey at Lehigh University and Sermarini to attend Monmouth University, softball not in her plans.
“Looking back, it’s going to be with a positive feeling,’ Sermarini said. “We’ve had so many firsts this year: we made it to the district championship for the first time, we made it to states for the first time. We won our first states game. There’s a lot of firsts but now our underclassmen can carry that on with them and continue to grow.
“I’m very, very proud of our team,’ Beattie said. “It was amazing what we did this year.’
A team doesn’t go 25-2 without a bit of fun along the way.
It was something the Vikings were known for, their goofiness exuding from each player as the team had a profound list of nicknames for each player (Squish for Kelsey Impink, Fiffle for Fiona Warren to name a few), chants, and an ode to the “Wild Thing’ in Abby Wild, even if she didn’t fully recollect the reference to the 1989 movie ‘˜Major League’ and Ricky Vaughn (played by Charlie Sheen). Wild even had the black-rimmed glasses the last few games — albeit missing the skull and crossbones that Vaughn notoriously wore. Too bad she never wore them when she pitched.
The wins and firsts may not be what endures most.
“I’ll look back on how much fun we’ve had,’ Beattie said. “Even if you’re winning a lot, it doesn’t mean as much if you’re not having fun. That’s what I’ll look back at, enjoying our last part of our senior year and everything we accomplished.’
“Your teammates are your friends for life,’ Sermarini said. “You have those connections, you make those bonds. You don’t go 25-2 if you don’t get along. You have to get along. The teammates and the relationships that we created will be something I look back on.’
Contact Sam Stewart at sstewart@pottsmerc.com. Follow him on Twitter @Samuel_Stewart7
