Upper Dublin gets glimpse of bright future
When Upper Dublin’s season ended in the PIAA-5A state quarterfinals earlier this month, there weren’t many tears or dejected faces leaving the dugout after a loss to Northern York at Exeter Township Senior High School.
It wasn’t the end that the Cardinals were focused on, it was the beginning.
The hope is that the 2023 season serves as the beginning of a new era on Loch Alsh Avenue. After going 6-14 in 2022, the Cardinals went 17-8 this spring and reached new levels of success with a starting lineup featuring eight underclassmen.
“I made them pause and stop and look at (Northern York) cheering on the way out,” Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer said. “I said, ‘Look, watch that for a second. That’s where we’re going next. Appreciate that for a moment. That’s what you’re striving to be.’ (This season is) paving the way for future success.”
The Cardinals finished tied for second in the Suburban One League Liberty Division with a 12-4 record, a substantial turnaround from their last-place finish and 5-11 mark in 2022. They entered the District 1-5A playoffs as the No. 1 seed and reached the semifinals, beating Unionville, 9-1, in the quarterfinals. Later, they won the first state playoff game in program history before falling to eventual state champion Northern York in the quarters.
“It’s amazing,” sophomore third baseman Bella Fiore said. “It’s been out of a book, almost. You go into the season after last year and you expect stuff, but you don’t want to get too in your head. Just to see all the work we put in reflect – it’s just been amazing. It’s such a good group. We’ve gotten so close it’s like a family. I love it.”
“We’re happy we came this far,” freshman pitcher Kyla Garrison, who struck out more than 200 batters this season, said. “Next year year we’re going to do it again, even better. We’re having fun.”
Garrison and Fiore were selected to the second team All-SOL Liberty Division while junior Rayla Kratchman earned Honorable Mention.
They handled District 12 champion Cardinal O’Hara, 13-1 in six innings, for the program’s first state playoff win.
Garrison was perfect into the fourth inning and only allowed three base-runners in the game. She struck out 11 batters in her one-hitter in the circle.
Garrison added two singles at the plate. Senior Kaelin Penna had a three-run double and Kratchman a two-run double while sophomore Lizzie Tambourino and Fiore each had two-run singles. Freshman Maddie Small added an RBI single.
The starting lineup in their finale featured one senior, one junior, four sophomores and three freshman. The second through eighth hitters in the lineup were all either freshmen or sophomores.
Those eight players will be a strong foundation for a team that plans on doing a lot of celebrating next June.
