Upper Merion eases past Springfield-Montco, stays perfect in SOL American

UPPER MERION >> Upper Merion coach John Whitney placed an expectation on his team this year that anything short of a PIAA Class AAA state playoff appearance would be a disappointment.

The first step to getting to the playoffs is winning the conference. Tuesday afternoon pitted the first-place Vikings against second place Springfield-Montco as undefeated Suburban One League American Conference records were on the line.

An offensive explosion and a solid pitching performance from Olivia Sborlini helped Upper Merion continue its American Conference dominance defeating the Spartans 13-0 in five innings.

“We’re young, we’re still learning, I knew it would be a tough task,” Springfield coach Josh Ringgold said. “I always tell my team its not about winning all the time its about showing the right effort and I think we came out today and we didn’t show a good enough effort.”

In addition to her work off the rubber, Sborlini also did some nice work at the dish. She tallied an RBI in each of her first three at-bats, the first a ground out that drove in a run, the second a hit by pitch with the bases loaded that brought one in and an RBI single in the bottom of the third.

Sborlini’s performance at the plate was indicative of the plate approaches by the Vikings all afternoon. Upper Merion showed great plate discipline by working counts and taking walks. In the team’s four at bats it registered nine hits four walks and one hit batter.

“We try to change our approach a little bit with two strikes,” Whitney said. “I always tell the kids, put the ball in play and good things happen.”

For Springfield its offensive production simply was not there. The young Spartans struggled to hit Sborlini’s pitching as Springfield could only manage two hits and a walk, with one of the hits and the walk belonging to pitcher Jen Hammon.

“It stunk,” Ringgold said of his team’s offensive performance. “We didn’t come out and do anything offensively. A pitcher like that we have to really play (well) and get on her and once she’s grooving like that there’s no way with the kids and the talent I have there’s no way we can stay with her.”

For Upper Merion its yet another small step towards its ultimate goal and winning the American Conference while the young Spartans take a valuable lesson away from playing a senior laden and talented team.