Stephanie Andreoli helps push Council Rock South softball past Pennsbury
FAIRLESS HILLS – Council Rock South junior Steph Andreoli may have bent a little in the Golden Hawks’ road match with Suburban One National League (SONL) rival Pennsbury but she sure didn’t break.
While Andreoli allowed the Lady Falcon hitters nine hits, the righthanded pitcher made sure many of those baserunners stayed where they were. With the sacks jammed in the first inning, she struck out Pennsbury sophomore pitcher Alyssa Hileman and, with runners at the corners in the fourth inning, she retired leadoff hitter Sydney Jakimowicz on a grounder to escape that frame no damage done.
“I do get nervous sometimes but those are the times I get excited,” said Andreoli.
“I look to those moments when all the pressure is on and it’s all silent and I get that big out.”
What’s more, Andreoli registered the winning hit, slapping a single up the middle with two outs in the fifth inning to score rightfielder Carly Dispirito from third base and put her team on top, 3-0. That’s a fine effort for any pitcher but what makes it more impressive is the fact that Andreoli had not taken an at-bat all season due to an ankle injury.
“I was nervous going up (to bat) because I haven’t swung in a while,” said Andreoli. “But I knew I needed to get the run in because it was real important.”
The run was made even more significant when Pennsbury leftfielder Olivia Mauro threw a strike to catcher Sierra Daley on an ensuing single by infielder Phylicia Wilkov to nail CR South senior Mikayla Becker at home plate. With the Falcons scoring runs in the home half of the fifth and sixth innings, Andreoli’s hit was crucial to the Hawks’ fourth win of the season.
According to CR South head coach Greg Heydet, it is the Hawks’ first win over Pennsbury in the history of the program.
Putting CR South (4-2, 3-1) in position to win was junior infielder Melanie Wilkinson (2-for-3), who looped an offering from Hileman over the centerfield fence with Wilcov on first base in the second-inning to give the Hawks an early 2-0 lead.
“That was big; she always steps it up,” said Andreoli. “She’s always there when we need her and she can really hit the ball.”
Wilkinson’s safety actually landed just over the fence and some of the players on both sides initially weren’t sure if it went for a homer. Even Wilkinson wasn’t sure.
“I had no idea,” Wilkinson. “I thought it bounced off the fence and went under because there is another fence behind there. It felt like a hard hit but I wasn’t sure … until I heard, ‘it’s a home run.’”
Defensively, the Hawks made a few errors but limited the mistakes to ground balls hit by the home team in the last two frames. That’s not bad for any team and especially good for South, which had three players in new positions.
Due to injuries sustained by Wilkinson, outfielder McKenna Diamond was playing short, Wilkov – who usually plays shortstop – was positioned at third base and Dispirito, a freshman, manned a spot in left field in her first ever varsity start.
How did the girls play in their new posts?
Wilkov made seven putouts in the game including the last two in the sixth inning, Diamond recorded four and Dispirito was in the right spot to make the catch on a hard hit ball by Pennsbury first baseman Anna Downs with a runner on first in the second inning.
“That was pretty nice,” said Wilkinson, of the catch made by Dispirito in left field. “I wasn’t nervous at all; I knew she could do it.”
The story of the loss for the Falcons – now, 2-7, overall, 1-5 in the SONL – was runners left on base. Pennsbury left nine stranded in this one.
“We were one hit away from a different story,” said Falcons head coach Frank McSherry.
Pennsbury entered the battle after splitting a twin-bill Saturday, April 16 in the Mount Saint Dominic tournament. In the first game, a 4-1 loss to the host team, the Falcons committed four errors in the field. In the second, a 3-1 triumph over Manasquan, Pennsbury limited the mistakes to just one.
“We haven’t played great defense this year,” admitted McSherry.
“But we played good today (against South).
“We just didn’t get the hit we needed. I don’t know how many runners we left stranded but it was a lot.
“We’ll learn from it and move on – look forward to the next game.”
Give credit to the opponent, added McSherry.
“Their kid pitched a good game and they played well; they made plays in the field.
“The third baseman made a bunch of nice plays, the shortstop made a couple nice plays and that kid that hit the home run was 2-for-3 and hit another rocket right at Mia (Pitt) at third base.”
Hitting 2-for-4 for the Falcons in this one were Pitt and shortstop Bailee Zaccaro, who scored Pennsbury’s first run in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Arden Rabiger accounted for the Falcons only RBI in the game with a two-out double to right field in the frame.
“Bailee and Mia have really been hitting the ball well and Arden hits the ball hard,” said McSherry. “Bailee and Mia have really been consistent.”
The Falcons scored their only other run in the sixth inning when Mauro raced home from third base on a wild pitch in the sixth. Pennsbury scored its second run with nary a hit as Mauro reached second with no outs on a two balls dropped by CR South.
The Falcons got leadoff batter Carly Parsons on base in the seventh on another Hawks’ fielding miscue but could not get her home as Andreoli induced a popup, a ground-out and a foul-out to end the game in her team’s favor.
Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
Council Rock South 3, Pennsbury 2
(April 19 at Pennsbury)
CR South (4-2) 020 010 0 – 3 6 2
Pennsbury (2-7) 000 010 1 – 2 9 1
WP — Stephanie Andreoli; LP — Alyssa Hileman; 2B — Arden Rabiger (P); HR — Melanie Wilkinson (CRS).
MULTIPLE HITS: CRS — Wilkinson 2-for-3; P — Bailee Zaccaro 2-for-4, Mia Pitt 2-for-4.
RBI: CRS — Wilkinson 2, Andreoli; P — Rabiger.
RUNS SCORED: CRS — Phylicia Wilkov, Wilkinson, Carly Dispirito; P — Zaccaro, Mauro.
