Spring-Ford uses early burst to capture PAC-10 title
ROYERSFORD >> Early-season prognostications by The Mercury pegged Spring-Ford to finish fourth in league play.
As they held up their four fingers for cameras after accepting the PAC-10 championship trophy, there was nothing average about these Rams.
For the first time since 2013, they were No. 1.
Megan Kern, Abby Files and Sam Lindsay helped supply the offense as Spring-Ford erupted for six runs in the first two innings before relying on steady defense the rest of the way to top Perkiomen Valley 6-2 in the PAC-10 final Thursday night at Spring-Ford’s Ram Park.
“This is for all the Spring-Ford athletes, all the Spring-Ford students and all the Spring-Ford faculty,” Spring-Ford head coach Tim Hughes said. “This isn’t just for us or for our athletes, this is for our whole school.”
The title is Spring-Ford’s ninth overall (third since 2010) and serves as a bit of retribution from last year’s result — a 7-0 loss to Perkiomen Valley. It also marks the third victory for Spring-Ford against Perkiomen Valley in championship contests this scholastic year.
Being able to call themselves champions, however, still hasn’t sunk in.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” Kern, who also finished with two RBI and two runs scored, said. “We’ve worked three days a week in the weight room all winter, we’ve practiced hard every day and weekends and it paid off.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to have a voice tomorrow,” added right fielder Sophia Cinti (one hit).
Judging by the first two innings, Cinti and the Rams’ voices may be gone for more than a day.
An electrifying start will do that.
Spring-Ford pounded out two runs in their first at-bat, benefitting from an RBI double from Abby Files and an RBI single from Lindsay to build a 2-0 lead before pouring it on in the second, batting through the lineup and using a two-run single from Kern and a single from Lindsay to build a 6-0 lead before many fans piled into the left and right field bleachers.
“We said we had to score early and often because we have to keep the pressure on them,” Hughes said. “Even if we didn’t get a run, we wanted to make sure that we at least got base runners on. Every inning, except for one or two, we did, just to keep pressure on.”
“(The goal was) just to stay up the whole time no matter what happened, jump ahead early, keep going, don’t get complacent during the game and stay focused,” Kern said.
The defense carried them the rest of the way — Cinti’s play in right the standout.
PV threatened in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with no outs in part to a leadoff error (allowing Kelsey Impink to get to first) and consecutive walks to Noelle McCullough and Abby Wild. Jordan Sell then blooped a ball into mid-right, allowing Cinti to camp under. She caught it and then fired home to an awaiting catcher Kern who applied the tag on a running Impink to complete the double play and help end PV’s largest threat.
“It really set the mood,” Cinti said of the double play. “We were already so high on energy it really took us over the top.”
“The right fielder (Cinti) making a devastating throw, that kind of took the wind out of their sails,” Hughes said in reference to key defensive plays. “That was big, that was huge.”
Huge because the relief appearance of PV’s Abby Wild had silenced the Rams’ bats.
The junior pitcher was exceptional in her five innings of work, striking out eight while allowing three hits in taking the no decision.
She just couldn’t get the support she needed as PV failed to bring across a run after Ana Bruni’s (three hits) second-to-home dash on an infield single in the fourth. It equated to three innings with runners in scoring position and three innings that Spring-Ford pitcher Sam Lindsay (three strikeouts, two earned, 12 hits allowed) worked herself out of it.
“They were the better team tonight. They earned it,” Perkiomen Valley head coach Dan McLaughlin said. “We can’t make the same mistakes like we did (and expect to win). We spoiled the relief appearance by Abby (Wild). She came in and kept us in the game, which was good but they’re a very good team and they’re well coached. They deserved to win. Tip your hats to them. They got it done tonight.”
“Good thing for us is we still have softball to play. It doesn’t make us feel any better but it minimizes the sting a little bit.”
NOTES >> Bridget Sharkey and Files each finished with two hits. The Rams finished with 11 hits to PV’s 12. … Impink, Sell and Rachel Helverson each finished with two hits in the loss. … Emily Oltman took the loss for PV after allowing eight hits and six earned in two innings. … Spring-Ford earned the No. 11 seed in the District 1-AAAA playoffs and will host No. 22 Garnet Valley Monday at a time TBD. Perkiomen Valley earned the No. 4 seed and will have a bye in the first round.
