Wimmer, Chichester see record run come to an end

ALLENTOWN — As Chichester experienced up close and personal Thursday afternoon, those Nanticoke girls sure can swing the bats.

The District Two champions didn’t mess around, scoring four first-inning runs en route to a 6-1 victory over the Eagles in the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal round at Patriots Park. Chichester, which finished second in the District One tournament, ends a 23-2 season that included the program’s first state playoff victory. Nanticoke moves on to Monday’s semifinal round to face a Bethlehem Catholic team that lost to Springfield in last year’s PIAA championship game.

You know a team can hit when even the great Meghan Wimmer can’t quite figure out how to solve them. The runs came fast and furious.

Nanticoke shortstop and leadoff hitter Rachel Roccograndi set the tone with a stinging double. It was one shot after another, and by the time the Eagles got their first hacks off pitcher Leandra Ramons, they had already dug themselves a seemingly insurmountable deficit.

Nanticoke was the better team and seems poised to make a run at the Class AAA title. They’ll be hard to beat.

“They came out swinging today,’ Wimmer said. “The first inning is always our roughest. They were just the better team today and got the big hits. They were hard to stop, especially in the first inning.’

Seven of the first eight batters Wimmer faced wound up on base. Jenna Lipowski shot a single up the middle to bring home Roccograndi, Miranda Bohn followed with a two-base hit and Lipowski scored on a fielder’s choice. Vanessa Tocket added an RBI single and Morgan Briggs chipped in a sacrifice fly.

It was a perfect start for Nanticoke.

“They’re probably the best-hitting and most aggressive team we’ve faced,’ Wimmer said. “That took us by surprise. You just have to tip your hat to them, they did great today.’

Wimmer settled in after Nanticoke tacked on a fifth run in the second inning as she held the Trojanettes hitless after the third. Sophomore catcher Nicole O’Donnell got the first of Chichester’s nine hits when she rapped a double the opposite way to right field. But O’Donnell was the first of seven runners that Chichester left on base.

Indeed, the Eagles had their chances to score off Ramos, but couldn’t take advantage.

“We definitely could’ve scored,’ said senior third baseman Maddie Thornton, who will play basketball at Alvernia. “Our hits just weren’t stringing together right. We would get bases loaded and they would turn the double play. It just wasn’t falling for us.’

Chi threatened with the bases juiced in the fourth inning, but Janay Harris lined out to Roccograndi and the shortstop quickly stepped on second base to double off Tiffany Malin (2-for-3). Wimmer got her first of two hits leading off the fifth, but Chi had nothing to show for it.

Finally, in the seventh inning, the Eagles pushed across their final run of the season after Roccograndi turned a nifty 6-3 double play. Jenna Cassidy, who doubled earlier in the game, worked a two-out walk. That turned the lineup over for Wimmer, who delivered an RBI double in her last high school at bat. Alex Maher then grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

“We never let up,’ Thornton said. “We kept fighting and were able to score in the last inning, which just shows how bad we wanted this.’

Wimmer ends an All-Delco career with the most pitching wins and strikeouts of any pitcher in the state’s AAA classification. She led the Eagles to a school-record 23-2 record this season. With Wimmer in the circle, the Eagles won back-to-back Del Val League titles and pitched the team to a pair of state tournament appearances.

“They made some great plays, even though we definitely had some opportunities,’ said Wimmer, who struck out seven and allowed five earned runs. “It’s not like we struck out looking or went down quietly. We put the ball in play, but their defense made phenomenal plays out there.’

Going forward, the Eagles hope to contend for the district and state playoffs, even without their amazing pitcher, who left an indelible mark on the program. Wimmer will continue her softball career at Brown University.

“We have some key returners coming back in Nicole, Hayley (Coale) and Alex. Hopefully we can find ourselves another pitcher and keep right on rolling,’ Chi coach Jamie Blumenthal said. “But I don’t know if we’ll ever find another No. 20 again.’