Haverford expecting a season to remember
CONCORD — With baby No. 2 on the way, Haverford High coach Jill Marshall has a few games left with her 2019 team.
The Fords will be sad to see Marshall go, but the seniors recall the last time she went on maternity leave. Things went pretty well …
“She was pregnant the last time we won the Central League (in 2017),” said Ali Murphy, the Fords’ All-Delco center fielder.
For now, Murphy and the Fords want to shower Marshall with as many wins as possible before she says her goodbyes. Fords assistant Bob Newman will handle head coaching duties the rest of the way.
Freshman Emma Taylor pitched the Fords to a 7-4 victory over Garnet Valley Wednesday. Marshall and the baby were happy.
Tess Smiley, Addison Joseph and Annabelle Donald all had two hits as the Fords improved their overall record to 3-1.
“The young players are hungry,” Marshall said. “It’s not easy to come in as any freshman or sophomore , but we’re a team filled with essentially seniors and sophomores. We have one freshman on varsity,we depend on the young players to step up. We’re looking forward to having a few good years with them.”
Everything starts with the left-handed-hitting Murphy, the fastest player in the league, who tripled in a run and scored twice Wednesday.
“I feel like we’ve had a lot of time in the offseason to really get to know each other,” Murphy said.
With the exception of the third inning, Taylor kept Garnet Valley’s sluggers at bay. She struck out her pitching counterpart, Becca Halford, in the seventh after GV scored two unearned runs to make it 7-4.
Taylor didn’t act like a freshman in the circle as she navigated a difficult Garnet Valley lineup. All-Delco senior Diane Torregrossa reached safely twice but was held hitless. Two-time All-Delco catcher Lindsey Hunt was intentionally walked twice, including in the seventh to load the bases, but was held in the yard and without an extra-base hit. That’s a win for any pitcher in the Central League.
Audrey Shenk laced a run-scoring single in the third off Taylor, followed by a sacrifice off the bat of Kelly McLaughlin. Nine-hole hitter Makenna Valente doubled and scored, and Olivia DiCampili stroked an RBI single in the seventh for Garnet Valley’s final run.
Nonetheless, Taylor limited the damage, allowing seven hits and one earned run while striking out four.
On a sun-splashed, windy afternoon, Taylor was composed and never backed down. She mixed speeds and forced the Jags into weak contact.
“The wind really wasn’t that bad, it wound up being OK,” Taylor said. And by getting big outs, “it makes it easier for the rest of the team and going forward in the next game, too”
At shortstop, Tess Smiley was slick in fielding every grounder that came her way at shortstop. At the plate, the sophomore was 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
“I love playing shortstop,” Smiley said. “You’re the captain of the infield and it’s great because I have Ali out there who I can talk to and it’s just a lot of fun. I just love playing the game.”
Haverford had its 2018 season end at Garnet Valley in the opening round of the District 1 Class 6A tournament.
“Nice to get revenge on them,” Murphy said.
In other Central League games:
Strath Haven 7, Radnor 6 >> Adah Kauffman’s single in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Panthers to a walk-off win.
Brooke Bender was 2-for-3 with a triple. Kiera DeColli and Gen Kozuib smacked doubles. Hazel Kane scored twice and was the winning pitcher.
For Radnor, Audrey Rosenblum fell a triple shy of the cycle. Tess Massaro went 2-for-4 and pitched five innings of solid relief. Roni Hoover went yard, and Emma Cooper tied the game with a single in the sixth inning, her first varsity hit.
Upper Darby 10, Ridley 1 >> Rebecca Sorrentino homered and drove in four runs for the Royals. From the circle, she dialed up 11 punchouts.
Lexi Witmer went 3-for-4 with two doubles, and Camryn Young collected three hits. Witmer and Young both had two RBIs.
Ashley Shanks and Morgan Chapman each doubled for the Green Raiders.
Marple Newtown 7, Springfield 3 >> The big blast was a grand slam by Brianna Kelly in the top of the seventh to break a 3-3 deadlock. Abby Layden and Grace Thorne added two hits apiece for the Tigers (5-0, 4-0), while Kesley Racine (nine Ks) was the winning pitcher.
Jordan Galloway doubled and tripled for the Cougars.
In the Catholic League:
Archbishop Carroll 6, St. Hubert 5 >> The Patriots rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the seventh inning. Christina Jackson hit a bases-clearing triple to tie the game, and Julia DiSands delivered the walk-off single. DiSands earned the win in the circle.
In the Inter-Ac League:
Notre Dame 11, SCHA 4 >> In addition to her 13 strikeouts, winning pitcher Grace Jackson had a double and a triple for the Irish. Marissa Bruno, Sophia Haub and Caroline Adams each slugged a run-scoring double.
