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WHITEMARSH >> Plymouth Whitemarsh had Thursday’s game against Quakertown circled for a while. The Colonials didn’t overlook any of their opponents since their loss at Quakertown on March 26 – and it showed with 11 straight wins – but they knew the rematch at home would have big implications in the Suburban One League Liberty Division race.
When Plymouth Whitemarsh got its chance at revenge, it delivered. The Colonials never trailed in a 7-4 win to hand Quakertown its first loss of the season and create a tie at the top of the SOL Liberty standings with three games remaining.
“League title was one of our goals,” PW coach Mike Perez said. “It wouldn’t have happened without this, but we have much bigger goals in mind. This definitely helps those as well. It helps us build confidence, it shows the girls that all the hard work they’re putting in is worth it and it’s just a big boost.”
“It’s a really big win for us,” PW pitcher Rian Reed said. “Hopefully we can carry it into next week. We’re looking forward to that.”
Reed played a key role in the circle and at the plate.
The right-hander threw a complete game. She struck out two batters to two walks and allowed four runs on six hits across seven innings.
“(Reed) was great,” PW pitching coach Liz Baginski said. “I was calling every single pitch that there was for her and she could hit every single one. There were a couple misses in there, but they were good misses. She wasn’t missing very far off the plate and she was so on today that even if it was far off the plate, she was getting the girls to swing no matter what because she was so on today. She did great.”
At the plate, Reed went 2-for-2 with two home runs and five RBIs. She was intentionally walked in her third at-bat.
“I was just looking to hit the ball,” Reed said. “I wasn’t trying to hit any big hits, just trying to put the ball in play and move all the runners on.”
Her two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning put the Colonials (14-2, 12-1 SOL Liberty) ahead for good. Her line drive to left field got out in a hurry and put PW in front, 3-1.
In the fourth inning, Anna Powel added a run with an RBI single. Two batters later, Reed sent another ball over the left field fence. Her three-run blast made it 7-1.
PW’s offense totaled seven hits against Quakertown pitcher Abbey Wagner, arguably the top pitcher in the league. Kalina Childers also homered – over the center field fence in the first inning – and Sam Skivo doubled.
“We work a lot on hitting,” Perez said. “We left last game against Quakertown (9-4 loss) being very positive. I thought we made really good contact. I think (Wagner) had five strikeouts in that game, which is down for her. I thought we hit the ball really well the last time we played them, it was just right at people. Today it looks like we avoided their gloves. The home runs were huge.”
Quakertown (14-1, 12-1 SOL Liberty) scored its first run in the top of the second inning. Kayla Scheibenhofer reached on a fielder’s choice and scored when Wagner’s single got away from PW’s defense.
Despite trailing 7-1, the Panthers fought to the finish. Cadence Lewis made it 7-2 with an RBI double in the sixth inning before Kira Jefferson hit an RBI double in the seventh. Jefferson scored on an error to make it 7-4 and put the tying run in the on deck circle, but Reed forced a pop up to shortstop to end the game.
Wagner struck out five batters to two walks in six innings. She allowed seven runs on seven hits.
Plymouth Whitemarsh and Quakertown each have three SOL Liberty games left in the regular season.
PW visits Hatboro-Horsham and Wissahickon and hosts Upper Dublin. They defeated each of those teams 8-0, 11-8 and 12-2, respectively, during the first round of league games.
“Our next one is Hatboro-Horsham and we know those league games are always trouble,” Perez said. “They’re always tough. It’s at Hatboro, which is always tough. I know they’re looking for revenge after last game. We just have to keep playing up, staying together, working hard at practice and doing what we can do.”
Quakertown hosts Wissahickon and Hatboro-Horsham before visiting Abington in the regular season finale. They beat Wissahickon 17-0, Hatboro-Horsham 4-1 and Abington 10-0 earlier this year.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 7, Quakertown 4
Quakertown 010 001 2 – 4
Plymouth Whitemarsh 120 400 x – 7
WP: Rian Reed 7 IP 2 K 2 BB 7 H 4 R
LP: Abbey Wagner 6 IP 5 K 2 BB 7 H 7 R
2B: QT: Cadence Lewis, Kira Jefferson. PW: Sam Skivo.
HR: PW: Kalina Childers, Rian Reed 2.
