Fliszar’s arm, Burgess’ bat propel Spring-Ford softball past Upper Merion for ninth straight win

KING OF PRUSSIA >> Faced with an early 2-0 deficit, Spring-Ford starting pitcher Jess Fliszar didn’t even blink.

With the thunder Ally Burgess and the rest of the Rams lineup have charging through their bats, why would she?

Fliszar rebounded from surrendering a first-inning two-run triple to strike out 12 Upper Merion batters, and Burgess’ go-ahead two-run home run in the third inning provided all the support Fliszar needed in the pitching circle in a 7-2 Spring-Ford victory on Wednesday. It was the ninth consecutive win for the sizzling Rams, with all nine coming against Pioneer Athletic Conference opponents.

It wasn’t just Burgess that provided the fireworks, though, as eight of the nine Rams hitters registered at least one hit, and the bottom two bats in the lineup, Jordyn Jacobe and Ava Bainbridge, combined to go 6-for-7 with three RBI and three runs scored.

“I think it was really big,” Burgess said of her two-run blast. “Hitting is really contagious on this team, so when one person hits, the rest of us hit. When everyone is up and cheering, we all do well and we all have that positive energy that something good is about to happen.”

Fliszar yielded a pair of first-inning walks, and both runners came around to score on a two-out triple to right center off the bat of Devon Maiden. But she didn’t fret, knowing full well that her offense, which had averaged nine runs a game over the course of the win streak, had her back.

“One hundred percent,” Fliszar said. “2-0 isn’t much for us when we’ve been hitting so well. We haven’t scored less than four runs in any of these wins, and the offense has been all-around amazing. It’s nice to have that strong offense knowing that I can let up a few runs here and there and don’t have to be too concerned, because the bats will get them back.”

Bainbridge doubled home Spring-Ford’s first run in the top of the second, and after an Addie Eross leadoff walk in the third, Burgess unloaded on an Ava DiDonato pitch, sending it over the left field fence. The Rams’ first lead of the game would be one they would not relinquish.

Spring-Ford (10-2, 9-0 PAC) was just getting started. The team sent eight batters to the plate in the fourth, tacking on three more runs on RBI doubles from Bainbridge and Eross, as well as a run-scoring single off the bat of Burgess (2-for-4, 3 RBI) to increase the lead to 6-2.

The Rams scored one more in the fifth on a Jacobe RBI single. In the meantime, Fliszar started to settle into a groove. She had multiple strikeouts in five of her seven innings, and while Fliszar issued seven free passes, none of them scored after the first inning. She surrendered only two hits all game, and none after the third inning.

“She’s amazing,” Burgess said of Fliszar. “We know what she’s going to do. She’s going to go out there and get a quick three outs so we can all come back in to go hit. It’s nice to have a pitcher like that who can strike out so many batters.”

Despite the loss, Upper Merion (8-5, 6-4) was not totally disappointed with how things went. DiDonato gave up 13 hits to a mighty Spring-Ford lineup, but she had moments of brilliance too, striking out seven in her six innings of work. A four-year starter, DiDonato has blossomed into the team’s best pitcher as she’s learned to incorporate a changeup into her arsenal.

“Ava has been incredible,” Upper Merion head coach Jim Godby said. “This year, she’s become a pitcher instead of just a thrower. She’s getting close to 250 career strikeouts and is also a great hitter. She’s worked really hard and has just been a blessing.”

The Vikings also made three errors, something they’ll have to clean up as the postseason creeps closer on the horizon.

“We have to work on our fielding,” Godby said. “We’ve gotten better, but when something bad happens the wheels tend to fall off. But just to compete with a team like Spring-Ford was huge for us. We hadn’t played well against them the last couple of years, and we competed until the end against one of the premier teams in the area.”

The Rams, meanwhile, are certainly feeling the belief more and more as the calendar creeps toward May. The team has seven remaining games in the regular season, and Fliszar, Burgess and company don’t plan on stopping now.

Why would they when they’re having this much fun?

“I think that’s why we’re winning all of these games,” Fliszar said. “We’re all so together, and it’s not like we need one person to have a great game in order to win. Everybody is having good games and playing their best, which is really helping to win these games.

“We set long-term goals at the beginning of the season, but once we start playing it’s more so one game at a time. After today we have Perk Valley on Friday, and that’s our next goal. One game at a time, one goal at a time and just keep going from there.”

Burgess, still only a sophomore, is having the time of her life. She’s racked up multiple home runs this season hitting in the middle of the order while playing confident defense at third base. She’s a key ingredient in this recipe for success, but also knows if she has a down game then there are eight other hitters ready to pick her up.

“Our goals are to win PACs, states, that type of stuff,” Burgess said. “But you have to build a base before you get to the top, and we’re going to keep taking those steps until we get there. Going on the field knowing we have each other’s backs has been really good. Our confidence from that is skyrocketing.”

Spring-Ford 7, Upper Merion 2

Spring-Ford    0 1 2 3 1 0 0 – 7
Upper Merion  2 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 2

WP: Jess Fliszar 7 IP, 2H, 2R, 7BB, 12K
LP: Ava DiDonato 6 IP, 13H, 7R, 2BB, 7K

2B: SF- Addie Eross, Riley Gancasz, Jordyn Jacobe, Ava Bainbridge 2; UM- Molly Gilliland
3B: UM- Devon Maiden
HR: SF- Ally Burgess
SB: UM- Becca Shuler, Emma Ricci