District 1 6A Softball: Bensalem squeezes past Avon Grove for first round upset win
WEST GROVE—Bensalem came into Monday’s first round, District 1 Class 6A playoff game as the underdog, the number 23 seed in a 24 team field. But the Owls weathered some early wildness from starting pitcher Maggie Formichelli, and did all the little things right, resulting in a 3-0 upset over host Avon Grove, the number 10 seed.
“This is the first playoff win for Bensalem softball in 33 years,” said Owls’ coach Dan Schram. “Maggie struggled early on—I think she had six walks in the first three innings—but once she settled in, she pitched brilliantly, hitting every spot. And the defense made some spectacular plays behind her in the late innings.”
Avon Grove threatened in the bottom of the first, when Formichelli walked three of the first four hitters she faced to load the bases, but the Red Devils weren’t able to take advantage. Back-to-back pop ups ended the inning.
“We just didn’t get the key hits when we needed them,” said Devils’ coach Alexandria Pannell. “Maddie (Grablewski) pitched a great game for us. It’s a tough way to see the season end.”
Bensalem broke through in the top half of the fourth. Lina Sponheimer led off the inning with a walk, then moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt from Emma Lostacco, and to third on a wild pitch. With Sponheimer 60 feet from home, Schram called for the squeeze, and the Owls executed it perfectly.
Mackenzie Kramer dropped down the bunt, pushing it towards the right side of the infield, and Sponheimer headed home, sliding in around the catcher and getting her hand in just before the tag, in as “bang bang” a play as you’ll see.
“Your outcomes are there when you call the squeeze,” said Schram. “We executed it well, and Avon Grove played it well. Lina just managed to get in under the tag, and that was a huge turning point.”
Given a lead, Formichelli settled in. Shaking off the early control problems, Fromichelli didn’t walk another batter until there were two outs in the seventh. She picked up the pitching win going the distance. She allowed no runs, and just two hits on the day. She struck out three, and walked six.
Grablewski was nearly as good in a hard luck loss. Grablewski also threw all seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits, striking out six and walking just two.
After the Owls pushed across another pair of runs in the top half of the seventh, the Red Devils gave it one last push. Grablewski led off the inning, and launched a ball to left that looked like sure extra bases. But Kramer came up with her second big play of the game, making like a wide receiver hauling in the deep ball, with a leaping, over the shoulder catch.
Still, Avon Grove managed to load the bases when Riley Wiercinski singled, Lexi Smith reached on an error with two outs, and Ana DiCampli walked. But Formichelli was able to induce a weak ground ball to second, and the Owls got the easy force at second to end the game.
Though the loss puts an end to the season for Avon Grove, it doesn’t obscure how good a season it was for the Red Devils, who finish the year at 16-5, and made a run for the league title that came as a surprise to many.
“We thought we were going to have a real shot to go deep into the post season last year,” said Pannell. “But then the pandemic hit, and we lost that great core of seniors. So this was a young team, and I’m not sure anyone expected much from us this year. But the kind of year we have makes the future look bright to all of us. And I think all of us were just happy to be able to play a full season after missing last year.”
For Grablewski, the game marks the end of her high school career, and her plans for college don’t include softball.
“I am going to go to DCC next year, and then plan to transfer to Penn State main campus,” said Grablewski. “I’m not going to play softball, though, so I can better focus on getting my doctorate in physical therapy. These last four years have been amazing, and I am really happy with the kind of season we had this year. I am going to miss it all.”
Bensalem 0 0 0 1 0 0 2—3
Avon Grove 0 0 0 0 0 0 0—0
Bensalem
Player AB R H RBI
M Klein–SS 4 0 1 0
J Klein–RF 4 0 1 1
Burchner—3B 4 0 1 0
Sponheimer—1B 2 1 0 0
Lostacco—C 2 0 0 0
Kramer—LF 2 0 0 1
Formichelli—P 1 1 0 0
Howard—DP 3 1 1 0
Hutchinson—2B 3 0 0 1
Totals 25 3 4 3
Avon Grove
AB R H RBI
O’Neill—CF 3 0 0 0
Smith—RF 4 0 0 0
DiCampli—LF 1 0 0 0
Long—C 3 0 0 0
Kelly—1B 3 0 1 0
McKeown—SS 3 0 0 0
Sabastro—3B 2 0 0 0
Grablewski—P 2 0 0 0
Weircinski–DP 3 0 1 0
McGill—FX/2B – – – –
Totals 24 0 2 0
2B—Kelly
Pitching
Bensalem IP H R ER SO BB
Formichelli (W) 7 2 0 0 3 6
Avon Grove
Grablewski (L) 7 4 3 3 6 2
