District 1-6A Baseball: Wall’s home run ignites Souderton in win over Garnet Valley

LOWER SALFORD >> Shanley Wall’s mighty swing to lead off Souderton’s fifth at-bat powered Big Red into the lead for good.

“That felt great,” Wall said of his solo shot over the 361 (feet) sign in right center. “I had been struggling recently, trying to get back into a groove. And that one felt great, to provide a spark for the team.”

Wall’s homer started a five-run fifth for No. 4 Souderton, as Big Red broke a 1-1 tie and pulled away to a 6-2 victory on a steaming Tuesday afternoon on the diamond at the Harleysville Community Center.

The win brought Big Red within one win of states. Souderton squares off on Thursday against No. 2 Hatboro-Horsham for the final spot.

“I feel like we’re always a threat with the bats,” Wall said of the pivotal fifth, “because one through nine, we’re always ready to hit. And I think we can always do damage in that situation.”

Said Wall of states: “We wanna get that one so bad, especially after losing to a big rival like Pennsbury last week. Just to come all the way back and take it into states would be huge for us.”

A tremendous season for No. 6 Garnet Valley came to a close. Right-hander Ryan Wootten pitched well for the Jaguars through the first four, with the game deadlocked at one apiece, but Souderton broke it open.

“We had been struggling to generate runs,” Big Red coach Mike Childs said. “We had been struggling to hit with two strikes. We did start off like that today. We came into the dugout, and said, look, we just gotta relax and start swinging the bats. Shanley comes up and hits a home run to spark the whole team.

“He’s been the spark plug at the top of the lineup all year. He went into a little bit of a lull, and now he steps up, exactly like we needed him to, like he’s been doing all year. And then Chris McKenna, right behind him, (gets the double). Once those guys get going, the rest of the team gets the confidence.”

McKenna’s double was followed by an error by the Jags and an RBI single by Carter Jagiela, making it 3-1.

Justin Dicesare singled, Kreig Pierce drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-1, and Andrew Schatz knocked in another run to widen the gap to 5-1. A ground ball by Kaden Pasternak extended the margin to 6-1 Big Red.

And that was more than enough for Big Red starter Will McCausland.

The right-hander went the distance in the 90-plus-degree heat, limiting Garnet Valley to two runs (one earned) off of two hits while racking up 13 strikeouts and walking three.

“He’s amazing. We’ve always counted on him to go all seven,” Wall said. “And he’s done that consistently. He’s a great pitcher to have on our team and one of the better pitchers I’ve seen in my life.”

Reed Farrell drew a walk, advanced to third on an error, and came in to score on a balk to even things at one apiece in the second after Souderton jumped out 1-0 in the first on an error by GV.

The only other run McCausland allowed came in the sixth, off an RBI double by Wootten.

McCausland slammed the door shut in the seventh, retiring the Jags in order, including back-to-back strikeouts to end it.

The fifth inning swung momentum into Souderton’s favor for good.

“The third time through their lineup, they started sitting on some pitches,” Jaguars coach Rudy Shiller said. “(Wall) sat on a change-up and puts it over the fence, and you tip your hat to that kid, and then (McKenna) hits a double into the gap. So they really started hitting the ball good. And you can’t give (McCausland) a five-run lead. He’s that good.

“These are great kids,” Shiller said of his squad. “At the beginning of the year, we struggled defensively, but by the end of the year, we really had tightened things up. The kids really came together and started believing in one another, played really hard against some really good competition.”

District 1-6A Playbacks
Souderton 6, Garnet Valley 2
(6) Garnet Valley 010 000 0 – 1 2 2
(4) Souderton 100 050 x – 6 8 2
WP: Will McCausland (7IP, 2R, 1ER, 2H, 13K, 3BB).
LP: Ryan Wootten (41/3IP, 6R, 3ER, 8H, 5K, 2BB, 1HBP).
HR: S-Shanley Wall. 2B: GV-Ryan Wootten; S-Chris McKenna, Ethan Warner.
Multiple hits: S-McKenna 2-for-3, BB, 2R; Justin Dicesare 2-for-3, R.