Schroding wins pitching debut as Souderton tops Lansdale Catholic

FRANCONIA >> It’s never a bad thing to have plenty of pitching.

Souderton returned one of the top pitchers in the area this spring in junior Abby Burns, who was terrific throwing two complete game shutouts to open the season. With three games on tap this week, Burns got a break Monday but her understudy didn’t disappoint.

Freshman McKenna Schroding got the win and added a home run for good measure as Souderton topped visiting Lansdale Catholic 14-1 in five innings.

“It was a little nerve-wracking but overall, it was pretty good,” Schroding said of her first varsity pitching start. “My drop curve was really on, but I was just trying to do my best with every pitch.”

The right-hander struck out six in her five innings against just three hits. In the fourth, after two errors and an RBI single by Catie Tomlinson put a run across and left two more on base for the Crusaders, Schroding struck out the next three batters to end the frame.

Souderton coach Carol Atkinson said Schroding threw with plenty of poise on Monday and the pitcher added the strikeout string to end the fourth was a boost to her confidence.

“She’s very calm,” Atkinson said. “If she found herself in any kind of tough situation, she came right out of it. She’s a freshman, which is key and we’re looking for big things.”

Pitching isn’t the only area where Souderton looks to have some depth this season. With 12 hits on Monday, the offense chipped in up and down the lineup and showed some good power with three different players putting a ball over the fence.

The hosts took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first off an LC error and an RBI single from Ryan Zimmerman before first baseman Taylor Nelson doubled it by launching a pitch to left-center. Souderton finished the frame up 5-0 when catcher Brooke Scotti, the No. 8 hitter, connected on an RBI single.

Three of the four runs by Souderton in the second inning came via the long ball. Schroding, who had reached on an error in the first, hit a no-doubter to straightaway center for a two-run shot that also plated Megan Kummery.

“I really like the team as a whole,” Schroding said. “We’re all really good friends, there’s no drama or anything. I liked the way everybody cheered everyone else on, it was really nice to have that.”

Riley York followed with a solo home run and Zimmerman, who singled for a second straight inning, would score on a wild pitch for a 9-0 lead.

LC got its sole run in the top of the fourth on Tomlinson’s base knock but the hosts came back to plate five in the bottom of the frame. An error and fielder’s choice got two over before Kummery, who had three straight grabs in right to end the game, drove in two with a single and a wild pitch allowed leadoff hitter Sierra Ripka to come home for the final margin.

The Crusaders knew a rebuilding year was coming anyway, but losing the spring of 2020 has Lansdale Catholic playing with a major lack of experience. Veteran coach Paul Suder is using what he has, which means a few players taking on positions they aren’t used to.

Senior Kaitlyn Leshak, one of the few Crusaders with varsity experience, is pitching for the first time in three years out of need and behind her, some of her teammates are out of their normal positions.

“We’re young, we don’t have a whole lot of pitching and have moved people around but they’re also mostly freshmen and sophomores,” Suder said. “They just don’t have that experience. We’re hoping by the end of the year, we’ve shown that we got better. This is a big-time rebuilding year for us, we lost four players that are all playing in college, so you just have to be patient.”

Tomlinson’s RBI single was notable as it was the first run that Souderton has allowed all season. Sophomore Sage Borro, batting in the leadoff spot and playing first base, had a nice piece of hitting on a one-out double in the third and had a second hit robbed on a nice grab by Kummery in the fifth.

Left fielder Ella Moran made a nice catch on a well-struck ball by Ripka in the second. As he does most years, Suder scheduled good nonleague competition and this year, the idea is to still try and compete in the PCL but also use that experience to start building for the next couple of seasons.

“You’re teaching on the run here but our big thing today was to swing the bats and I thought they did,” Suder said. “We understand it’s a building year, but we still want to see good competition.”

Souderton opens SOL Colonial play this week, visiting CB South on Wednesday and hosting CB East on Friday. Even without a season last spring, Souderton’s players spent the summer and fall and winter offseason practicing and working hard to get back on the field, so they’re eager to see the rewards of that paying off.

“They support each other, if one gets down, the others bring her back up and it’s a great group of girls to have,” Atkinson said. “The nice part is, we also return most of these girls. Our pitching is solid, both pitchers we have our solid and the girls can hit, they’ve proven that.”

SOUDERTON 14, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 1 (5)
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 000 10 – 1 3 3
SOUDERTON 540 5x – 14 12 4
HR: S – McKenna Schroding, Riley York, Taylor Nelson. 2B: LC – Sage Barro.