Patriots win slugfest over Golden Knights

By Bill Rudick
Brudick55@gmail.com
WESTTOWN—Great Valley continued its march through the Ches-Mont Wednesday afternoon, running its unbeaten record to 8-0 with a decisive 18-6 win over Rustin (3-3).
“All of us just go up there looking for a strike to hit,” said lead-off hitter Sarah Schubert. “Then we just try to make good contact. We’re really playing well, hitting up and down the line-up. I’m just really happy with the way we’ve come together as a team.”
The Patriots wasted no time getting on the board, with Schubert leading off the game with a home run. Erin Bever followed with a double, Morgan Orlowski walked, and Kasey Bryan singled to load the bases.
Emily Fisher picked up an RBI with a single, then Audra Schoen was hit by pitching, knocking in another run. Morgan Johnson wrapped things up in the five-run first with a two-RBI single.
Two more runs came in the second. Another three in both the fourth and the fifth. A pair came across in the sixth, and then Great Valley put things away with another five-run outburst in the top half of the seventh.
When all was said and done, the Patriots banged out 17 hits on the afternoon, including seven for extra bases. Schubert ( 2 for 4, 4 R, 3 RBI) and Morgan Orlowski (3 for 4, 5 R, 3RBI) each went deep twice on the afternoon, with Schubert adding a bomb to straight away center in the seventh, and Orlowski going yard in the second and sixth innings.
“We hit good pitches and that leads to base hits,” said Patriots’ coach Jeff Celucci. “Morgan and Sarah both pounded the ball all day. But everyone, including the number nine hitter (Leah Rizzi) hit the ball hard and doubled for us. Morgan threw well, too. We just have to work on tightening up our defense a bit.”
Orlowski survived a scare in the fourth. With Rustin still in striking distance at 7-1, the Knights loaded the bases with just one out. But Orlowski induced a comebacker for the force at home, then whiffed the next hitter to escape unscathed.
“We knew that Rustin is a good hitting team,” said Orlowski. “Every one of those players can hit. But I know the way my team has come together, they’d have my back. So I just relaxed and pitched. It definitely didn’t hurt to have a nice lead at the time to work with, another credit to the team.”
Rustin didn’t quit, though, and showed the kind of hitting team it can be, notching five runs over the next three innings. The Knights connected for 12 hits over their own, including doubles from Nicole McCarthy and Sammi LaRosa.
“It just shows the heart this team has,” said Rustin coach Bruce Dudley. “Down like we were in the fifth, it would have been easy to pack it in and go home. But they didn’t. They fought and fought to the end.”
Great Valley 5 2 0 2 3 1 5 –18
Rustin 0 1 0 1 3 1 0—6
Great Valley AB R H RBI
Schubert—SS 4 4 2 3
Bever—3B 6 1 2 0
Orlowski—P 4 5 3 3
Bryan—C 5 2 2 0
Fisher—1B 4 2 2 1
Nusbickel—PH 1 1 1 0
Schoen—DP 1 0 0 1
Armand—PH 1 0 0 0
Johnson—CF 2 0 1 2
Eshenhower—PH 1 1 1 0
Taylor—LF 3 1 3 2
Rizzi—2B 5 1 1 2
Barlow—FLX 0 0 0 0
Totals 33 18 17 14
Rustin AB R H RBI
Abadie—1B/P 5 1 2 1
Fricker—3B 4 0 1 0
Wright—SS 4 0 1 0
Fife—C 3 1 2 1
McCarthy—P/1B 3 2 2 0
McGanus—RF 4 1 1 0
LaRosa—CF 4 1 3 3
Dobbs—LF 3 0 0 0
Bitner—2B 3 0 0 0
Totals 33 6 12 6
HR—Schubert (2), Orlowski (2) 2B—Bever, Johnson, Rizzi, McCarthy, LaRosa
Pitching IP R H K BB
Great Valley
Orlowski (W) 7 6 12 6 4
Rustin
McCarthy (L) 4.1 13 12 0 2
Abadie 2.2 5 5 2 3