Red-hot Hatboro-Horsham cools off Wissahickon
HORSHAM >> Despite having a young team, the Hatboro-Horsham Hatters continue to have success on the diamond after beating Wissahickon 8-4 RedThursday.
The Hatters continued to build momentum towards a push for the playoffs as they have won six of their last seven games.
Highlighting the win was relief pitcher Kendal Leitner, who came into the game with just two outs in the top of the first inning.
“I came in a little nervous after being down 2-0,” said Leitner. “But then after the first inning I got my confidence back up and I just threw the ball rather than aiming.”
Wissahickon got the best of starting pitcher Grace Daniels with a two-out rally that scored two runs.
The Hatters quickly responded in the bottom of the first inning when they brought in two runs on a two-out rally of their own.
Both teams couldn’t produce any offense until the fourth inning when each team scored one run to make the score 3-3 after four innings.
The Hatters finally got their first lead in the fifth inning by scoring three runs with two of them coming from a two-run double from Kayla Tauber to lift her team to 6-3 after five innings.
Hatboro-Horsham managed to get two insurance runs in the sixth inning when Kristen Myers scored Alicia Tauber on an RBI double to make the score 7-3.
The Hatters made it 8-3 later in the sixth inning when Leitner crushed a line drive to centerfield to score Myers.
“I feel really good after this game,” said Myers. “Especially after my last plate appearance because it was the hardest one but got the job done.”
The Trojans, despite being down by five runs with three outs left, tried to get back and tie it in the top of the seventh inning.
After a double and an error started the top of the seventh, the Trojans made it 8-4 with an RBI single.
However, a pop out and a double play stranded two runners on base to give Hatboro-Horsham the thrilling victory.
Despite earning the loss, Wissahickon’s starting pitcher Bella Harris tossed a complete game to keep the Trojans close with the Hatters.
“Usually Hatboro-Horsham beats us with the 10-run rule in the fifth inning,” said Wiss coach Mike Borkowski. “I thought hanging in there with them was a huge accomplishment for us.”
“Bella pitched very well for us and she kept them off balance throughout the game,” added Borkowski. “We have been improving in every game and I think this is the first time we went seven innings against Hatboro-Horsham in a very long time.”
Leitner earned the win for the Hatters after striking out six Trojans and only giving up one earned run.
Myers had the best game on offense for the Hatters going 3-for-4 with a double and scoring twice.
The Tauber sisters, Alicia and Kayla, each hit two singles while Kayla scored two RBI’s.
“I thought the game went well despite being a little slow on defense,” said Alicia. “Throughout the game we picked it up and we were hitting the ball pretty hard today.”
“I think we just need to keep backing up our pitchers with our offense,” said Kayla. “Just need to keep working hard during games and practice every day.”
“Wissahickon is a very improved team,” said HH coach Joe DiFilippo. “They gave us a good game, but we are a young team and sometimes it takes us a while to get going on defense and offense.”
“The girls are starting to enjoy themselves,” added DiFilippo. “At first, they had to learn to win. Now they know how to win and they don’t accept losing anymore.”
Hatboro-Horsham 8, Wissahickon 4
WI 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 9 2
HH 2 0 0 1 3 2 X 8 15 3
WP: Leitner 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
LP: Harris 6.0 IP, 15 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Notable Hitters (Hatboro-Horsham):
Myers: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI
K. Tauber: 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI
A. Tauber: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Notable Hitters (Wissahickon):
Goodrich: 2-for-3, 2 2B, 1 RBI
Pappanastision: 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI
Paige-Miller: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
