Carosi sisters, Strechay lead Perkiomen Valley past Upper Merion in PAC softball semifinals

ROYERSFORD >> Before Monday’s second Pioneer Athletic Conference softball semifinal at Spring-Ford’s Ram Park, a couple fans lamented the fact they’d have to change up their “Let’s Go Vikings” cheers – as the nickname is shared by Perkiomen Valley and Upper Merion.

It turned out the two sides had plenty in common once the game started as well.

It took nine innings, but PV senior Ashley Carosi doubled home courtesy runner Jackie Miceli – who was running for Carosi’s twin sister Erin, who’d also doubled – with the winning run as the No. 3 seeds from Perkiomen Valley outlasted No. 2 seed and Frontier Division champs Upper Merion in the Battle of the Vikings.

The clutch-hitting sisters secured the win for junior Maci Strechay, who continued her late-season brilliance by scattering a run and four hits through nine innings. Strechay struck out 10, including a called strike three to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth.

No. 3 Perkiomen Valley will return to Spring-Ford – as the home team – on Wednesday for the conference championship to battle No. 4 Boyertown, a winner over Spring-Ford in the first semifinal.

Strechay started the season splitting time in the circle but has emerged as PV’s clear-cut No. 1 down the stretch.

“Everyone contributes to this team in different ways,” she said. “We’ve worked out the pitching in different ways, and I think it’s working.”

Strechay said the sequence that led to the only runs of the first seven innings typifies PV’s approach to team play.

Upper Merion (12-8) squeezed across the game’s first run in the bottom of the fourth when Emma Volpe reached on an error charged to PV’s shortstop, Peyton Mears. Strechay got the next batter on a first pitch comebacker.

But Mears had no time to sulk over the error, and Strechay didn’t have to stress about pitching from behind – because Mears, leading off the top of the fifth inning, sent the first pitch from Upper Merion’s excellent lefthander Ava DiDonato (nine innings, three earned runs, six hits, eight strikeouts) over the center-field fence to knot the game at 1, erase her own mistake, and send Strechay back to the circle with a clean slate.

“I think (Mears) came into the dugout and I was the first person to hug her,” said Strechay.

“But that’s how it works on this team. Everyone feeds off one another. We had another big win here (at Spring-Ford) in 11 innings when (second baseman) Bella Reedy hit a bomb just like that.”

Strechay pushed it to the limit, as Upper Merion loaded the bases with two out and had a full count on Volpe – one pitch away from walking off – before the junior righthander got a called strike three for her ninth strikeout of the night.

By the time she returned to the circle, she was pitching with a two-run lead thanks to the Carosi sisters and designated player Sammi Petersen, who singled home courtesy runner Gianna Corropolese with an insurance tally.

“Very confident,” said Ashley Carosi of her reaction to taking a two-run lead with Strechay pitching. “Because anything can happen, but you have some leeway with that extra run.”

Erin and Ashley Carosi’s back-to-back doubles were uncannily similar – opposite field shots that managed to elude the Upper Merion outfielders after each batter worked a deep count against DiDonato.

“You’ve got to forget about the past,” said Erin Carosi. “It’s a new game once you’re in extra innings.”

Aside from DiDonato, Upper Merion was led by their 1-2 hitters Becca Shuler and Molly Gilliland, who had two hits apiece. Shuler led the fielders with five putouts in center field.

“I’m very proud of how we played,” said Upper Merion coach Jim Godby. “Both pitchers were outstanding, and credit to PV for getting the big hit at the end.”

Upper Merion is in position to host a first-round game when District 1-5A play begins next week.

Throughout the game, PV was frustrated as DiDonato mixed speeds with pinpoint control. Each retired batter would whisper a few words of encouragement to the next batter – often leading to futility, as DiDonato was flawless outside of Mears’ fifth inning shot.

Of course, a batter who doubles can’t offer many words – at least not quietly – to the next hitter. Luckily for PV, the Carosi sisters say they already have it covered.

“I guess it’s twin telepathy,” Ashley Carosi laughed. “We kind of just build off each other.”

Strechay, who has a twin brother herself, says she and her sibling haven’t quite reached that level.

“They (the Carosi sisters) were talking before the game, and someone said something about twin telepathy,” said Strechay. “I was like ‘what?’”

Fortunately, she has a suitable replacement in her rapport with her Perkiomen Valley teammates.

“We make mistakes, but more importantly we build off one another,” Strechay concluded. “That’s the easiest part of playing for this team.”