By Bill Rudick
brudick55@gmail.com
LIONVILLE – Downingtown East catcher Lily Waterer knew she was getting close to 100 career hits, but didn’t know exactly how close, or how big a hit it would wind up being. With her Cougars clinging to a 2-1 lead against arch rival Downingtown West, Waterer took a big cut on a 3-1 pitch, and launched a bomb to deep left, clearing both the fence and the century mark as East (3-3 overall, 2-1 Ches-Mont National) topped West 4-1.
“I knew I was close, but I didn’t expect it to be that one,” said Waterer, who will be playing Division 1 softball at Central Connecticut next season. “I knew she would have to come to me with the count 3-1, and I just decided to swing as hard as I could. I knew right away I got all of it, but just hoped it stayed fair. I just felt so good running around the bases and seeing my teammates cheering.”
Waterer does it all for the Cougars, anchoring the offense from the three hole, while also calling all the pitches as catcher.
“She just so amazing for us,” said East coach Peggy O’Dwyer. “She was a freshman starter, so we’ve been lucky to have her for four years now. What she means to this team can’t be overstated.”
What the hit meant to Waterer, beyond the pride of reaching a milestone, was what it meant to her team.
“We’re still young and finding our way,” said Waterer. “We’re finding our momentum, and now coming together to beat West, our close rival, and always one of the top teams we play, is going to go a long way for our confidence. We’re really starting to believe in ourselves as a team.”
It was the Whippets (2-2, 2-1) who struck first, plating a run in the top half of the first inning when Casey McWilliams led off the game with a triple to the gap in right center, then came in to score on a wild pitch.
“Hats off to East, they are a good team,” said West coach Joey Germani. “We just need to do a better job of not giving extra outs and executing the way we know we can.”
The Cougars first grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Waterer got things going with a lead-off single, and in came courtesy runner Alexis Stanley, who moved over to second, then third, on wild pitches. After Sam Wendig (1 for 2, double, RBI) worked a walk, and Sofia Gange came in as a courtesy runner for the pitcher, the Cougars worked a delayed double steal to score Stanley. Gange came in to score on a double from Sydney Kaczorkowski for a 2-1 Cougars lead.
“My teammates got the inning off to such a great start, I just wanted to make contact and keep it going,” said Kaczorkowski (1 for 3, double, RBI). “I just wanted to do what I could to score the runners. The win means a lot. We know what kind of team West is, and this will keep us moving forward.”
East tacked on a couple of insurance runs in the sixth, on Waterer’s homer and back-to-back doubles from Lucia Giuliano (2 for 3, double, run scored). The insurance was more than enough, as Wendig picked up the win in the circle, allowing one run on seven hits, striking out seven, while walking just one.
Downingtown East 4 Downingtown West 1
DWest 1 0 0 0 0 0 0—1
DEast 0 0 0 2 0 2 X—4
HR—Waterer 3B—McWilliams 2B—Giuliano, Wendig, Kaczmarski
WP—Wendig LP—Carter
