WHITEMARSH – Rian Reed retired the first 13 Hatboro-Horsham batters she faced before giving up a one-out single to Bella Karpovich in the top of the fifth inning.
“It’s a bummer but it’s OK,” Reed said. “You can’t be perfect.”
But flawless was not required from the junior right-hander for the Plymouth Whitemarsh softball team to extend its winning streak to six games Friday afternoon.
The Colonials’ bats continued to stay hot, providing Reed with a 5-0 lead after two innings while adding three more in the sixth – Kalina Childers bringing in the last two on her home run – as PW topped the visiting Hatters 8-0 in the SOL Liberty Division contest.
“My defense really had my back today, we had some really clutch hits, Kalina’s hit obviously was a big help,” Reed said. “I’m just really proud of our team and I’m excited for next week.”
Reed struck out six in her one-hit shutout performance with the only other baserunner she allowed after the Karpovich single coming on a leadoff walk in the sixth.
“I was trying to work on up and down, trying to move the ball around a decent amount,” Reed said. “Really trying to induce outs not so much strikeouts.”
Marissa Perez was 2-for-4 with a two-RBI triple in the second and also scored twice while Childers – batting eighth in the Colonials’ lineup – connected on a double in the second and finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.
“I think we have a very powerful lineup overall,” Childers said. “We always focus on offense so I think that there aren’t really any holes in our lineup so I try not to think about the number really just because of how strong it is. So I just go up there, do my job, do whatever I can to keep us moving in the lineup.”
Childers, who announced on X Friday her verbal commitment to Jefferson University, capped the game’s scoring in the sixth as the junior belted a pitch over the left-field fence for a two-run homer.
“I was getting late in the count, had the full count and I was just trying to stay focused and make solid contact,” Childers said. “Make sure she could get in and score.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-2, 7-1 division) came into Friday having posted double-digit runs in its previous five games, including a season high in beating Lower Moreland 17-2 Thursday. The Colonials’ eight runs against the Hatters snapped that streak but through 10 games they are outscoring opponents 106-33.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time working on hitting, on the offensive side of things and in our league and on our schedule we know we’re going to have to hit to win,” PW coach Mike Perez said. “We’re going to hit against (Hatboro-Horsham pitcher Alyssa) Tooley, we’re going to hit against all of our other opponents that we have.
“A lot of their big pieces are their pitchers that we have to hit against, so we’ve been focusing there and it’s been working out really well. We spend all fall, all winter working on that, all rain we’ve been getting a lot of hitting reps in inside which has been nice, it’s nice to see it pay off against a tough game.”
Friday’s victory puts the Colonials alone in second place in the SOL Liberty behind leader Quakertown, which handed PW its last loss 9-2 on March 26.
Plymouth Whitemarsh has five games before its May 2 rematch at home against the Panthers, next week playing four times over five days beginning with a visit to Springfield (Montco) 3:45 p.m. Monday.
“We have a good time so that we can win instead of winning to have a good time,” Childers said. “We actually started about that last week and that’s what we’ve been keeping in mind.”
Tooley took the loss for the Hatters (7-3, 6-2), allowing eight runs – seven earned on seven hits in five-plus innings. She walked four and struck out eight.
Hatboro-Horsham, which had its two-game win streak stopped, was shut out for the first time this season and the first time since falling 13-0 to Northern York in last season’s PIAA-5A first round. The Hatters visit William Tennent 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Marissa Perez started the bottom of the first with a single to right then went to second on a wild pitch. Caelin Kosvitch followed with a walk with both runners advancing on a passed ball. The next at-bat, Madison Moran made it 2-0 with her two-RBI single.
PW plated three more runs in its half of the second. With one out, Childers doubled to left then went to third on Emily Dobrowolski’s bunt single.
“She’s a great pitcher, it’s hard to be selective with her because she moves pitches around a lot,” said Childers of Tooley. “So I was just trying to attack the ones I knew were in the zone.”
Marissa Perez sent a pitch out to left for a two-RBI triple – PW’s leadoff hitter initially ruled out due to having a foot out of the batter’s box but the call was changed, the hit stood and the Colonials were up 4-0.
Two batters later, Moran’s two-out walk brought up Sam Skivo, who gave PW a 5-0 lead with an RBI single to left center.
In the bottom of the sixth, Joslyn Perez and Reed drew consecutive walks. A wild pitch advanced the runners with an error on a throw to third allowing Perez to score. Childers proceeded to hit her two-run homer to make it 8-0.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 8, Hatboro-Horsham 0
Hatboro-Horsham 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
Plymouth Whitemarsh 230 003 X – 8 7 0
WP: Rian Reed 7 IP 1H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 SO.
LP: Alyssa Tooley 5 IP 7 H 8 R 7 ER 4 BB 8 SO.
2B: PW-Kalina Childers; 3B: PW-Marissa Perez; HR: PW-Childers.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Childers 2-3, RBI, 2 R; M. Perez 2-4, RBI, 2 R; Madison Moran 2 RBI.
