Lindsay sisters lift Upper Perkiomen past Villa Maria for District 4A title

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> As sisters, Taylor and Morgan Lindsay have shared plenty together over the years.
Good memories, bad memories. Some toys and of course even some passed down clothes.
And on Wednesday afternoon, there they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, each with a hand sharing a spot on the District One Class 4A trophy.
Behind the Morgan sisters, Upper Perkiomen beat Villa Maria Academy 4-1 for the district title at Methacton High School.

“I can’t believe it, because it hasn’t happened in what, forever?” said Taylor Lindsay of the win, which secures the Tribe their first ever state playoff berth.
With the win, the Tribe will face off against the third-place team from District 3 in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs which start next Monday, June 5.
Junior pitcher Taylor Lindsay pitched the complete game in the circle while freshman catcher Morgan Lindsay blasted the eventual go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to snatch away the title from two-time defending champion Villa Maria.

The elder Lindsay struck out 10 hitters and allowed just three hits — the lone run a solo home run by Lisa Becker in the top of the second inning.
“We were prepared, we were hungry, we had the energy,” Villa head coach Nicki Hartshorne said, “but we just couldn’t get a hold of her (Lindsay) and hit those holes. You need it all to win games like those. We needed more than just three hits.”

Relaying the signals from behind the plate to her sister in the circle, Morgan Lindsay certainly had the best seat in the house to watch her older sister go to work.
“Her curveball and drop-curve were working really well,” said Morgan Lindsay. “She pitched well and the defense played awesome behind. It was up to the rest of us to score some runs.”
Upper Perk finally got to Villa right-hander Alyssa Viscardo in the bottom of the fourth inning.
After leaving runners stranded in scoring position in the bottom of the second and third innings, UP loaded up the bases and got a run back in the bottom of the fourth. Morgan Lindsay started the rally with a single back up the middle before her courtesy runner — Alexa Banner — came around to score on Olivia Young’s sacrifice fly to right-center.
An inning later, after shortstop Sarah Heidler got aboard on a one-out single to right, Taylor Lindsay blasted a full-count pitch well over the fence in left-center.

“I was expecting a fastball in the zone with it being a full-count,” said Lindsay of her two-run shot. “I knew it was going far right off the bat.”
The Tribe then added a little insurance in the bottom of the sixth as lead-off hitter Emily Moll singled to left field to score Alyssa Sullivan from third.
The 2017 season marks the first time in the past two seasons that the Hurricanes’ season ends before the state playoffs. Even with that, Hartshorne was quick to note the positives.

“We’ve had incredible season,” she said. “I’m so proud of them and the way they’ve played this year. We never counted ourselves out in any game, even during the last inning (today). Our girls were intense all the way to the end.”
During the postgame, second-year Upper Perk head coach Dean Sullivan was quick to look at the bigger picture.
“It’s big for this school and the students,” he said. “I don’t think the girls quite know what they accomplished here just yet, but they will. As a coach, I can’t wait to see what else these girls can do together.”
If Wednesday was indication, the Tribe could have plenty more softball to go.