Pope John Paul II reels in Upper Perkiomen for first District 1-4A championship since 2011
FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> It was the seventh inning in a suddenly-dramatic game with the tying run on third base and the would-be second out just dropped on a pop fly in foul territory, Pope John Paul II first-year head coach Steve Faella bellowed to his team from the dugout, “Be a goldfish!”
The metaphor for having a short memory after a mistake made popular by the Apple TV series “Ted Lasso” certainly fit the moment.
As for the occasion, when it comes to softball success at the District 1 level, the Pope John Paul II program is a goldfish by nature. There are nearly no memories to look back on.
Two batters later, the goldfish had gold around their necks.
Sophomore pitcher Lexi DiBricida got a pop out and strikeout to halt the rally and deliver Pope John Paul II a 5-4 victory over Upper Perkiomen in the District 1-4A championship game Thursday at Methacton High School.
Final: Pope John Paul II 5, Upper Perkiomen 4
Golden Panthers are District 1 4A champions after holding off UP in the top 7th pic.twitter.com/mrnOf1Crdo
— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) May 23, 2024
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It was the first district title for the Golden Panthers since 2011 and their first appearance in the final since 2018.
“If you would have told us our freshman year that we would have won districts we probably wouldn’t have believed you,” said junior center fielder Abby Simmers.
“I feel like we’ve come a long way this year and we’re really proud,” said junior shortstop Molly Houchins.
Pope John Paul II shortstop Molly Houchins, right, gets a high-five from first baseman Kelly Murphy after combining on an inning-ending double play during the District 1 4A championship against Upper Perkiomen on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Pope John Paul II senior Sarah Boyce is handed the District 1 trophy after winning the 4A title over Upper Perkiomen on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Pope John Paul II’s Abby Simmers smiles during a late-game huddle with coach Steve Faella during the District 1 4A championship against Upper Perkiomen on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)Pope John Paul II’s Abby Simmers smiles during a late-game huddle with coach Steve Faella during the District 1 4A championship against Upper Perkiomen on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
PJP earned the district’s lone berth into the PIAA 4A tournament, which begins Monday, June 3. It will take on the District 3 runner-up. Upper Perk (10-12) saw its season end in the District 1-4A final for the second straight year.
“Last year’s (loss) was pretty painful because it’s a big opportunity to go to states,” Upper Perk coach Dean Sullivan said. “I told the girls, there’s two things you want to do when you play high school sports: go to states, or win a district. So, we had a big opportunity here today. We matched up well with them, but they just beat us.”
Pope John Paul II is a team transformed under Faella after going 6-12 and finishing fourth in the PAC Frontier last spring. This year the Golden Panthers are 14-8 and finished tied atop the Frontier, only missing the PAC Final Four by a tiebreaker to Upper Merion.
“From where they were last year – I don’t know much about what went on last year,
but I know the vibe wasn’t all that good – my goal was just to make them believe that they can win, because they’re all really good players. And now you see what happens,” Faella said.
“They actually saw they could do it, believed they could do it, believed in having each other’s backs, and they’re doing things that they never thought they could accomplish.”
The Pope John Paul II softball team celebrates after winning the District 1 4A title over Upper Perkiomen on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Members of the Pope John Paul II softball team celebrate after winning the District 1 4A title over Upper Perkiomen on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Houchins was 2-for-3 with an RBI and leadoff hitter Simmers was 1-for-3 and scored a run for the Golden Panthers’ nine-hit attack.
Grace Fitzgerald played a big role in reserve. She hit an RBI double in her first at-bat in the fourth inning; later, her sacrifice fly that scored Sophia Benincasa (reached base on a dropped third strike) in the home sixth proved to be the winning run.
PJP built a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a Rylee Derecola RBI double and Houchins RBI single and grew the lead to 4-1 an inning later on Fitzgerald’s RBI double and a double steal. The Tribe got on the board with Ryan Berg’s bunt single that scored Olivia Gehringer.
Both teams traded runs in the sixth, Upper Perk cutting it to 4-2 on Maddy Deeble’s RBI single before PJP regained a three-run lead on Fitzgerald’s sac fly.
Pope John Paul II pitcher Lexi DiBricida delivers to the plate during the District 1 4A championship against Upper Perkiomen on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Upper Perk made things very interesting in the top of the seventh. Erin Davidheiser reached on an error and Darby Gasda singled, both being driven home by Elizabeth Proctor’s two-run triple that made it 5-4.
There were nervy moments but DiBricida showed her poise by inducing a fly out from catcher Ashley Forrest and a game-ending strikeout.
“Lexi is just unbelievable. You saw in that last inning, I go out there, and the fielders are all hyped up and anxious, and they’re trying to calm down,” Faella said. “And Lexi’s just like, you wouldn’t know if she was taking a test, in the middle of the ninth inning of the game or she’s laying on the beach. She’s just so laid back and calm and exactly what we needed.”
All three meetings between the team’s had the same result: three one-run wins for PJP (7-6 on April 19, 4-3 on May 6).
“We played them twice before and both times we ended up winning but both times we only won by one run and that’s how it ended up today,” Houchins said. “So we knew it was going to be a tough game and that it could go the other way so we had to come out hot right away, keep our energy up and just kind of want it more and prove that we could do it again.”
Upper Perkiomen’s Ashley Forrest signals back to her dugout after hitting a double against Pope John Paul II during the District 1 4A championship on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Upper Perk earned itself a spot in the district final again with an upset of top-seeded Villa Maria – the team that ended their year in 2023 – in the semifinals. After a spring where the Tribe weren’t the dominant force in the Frontier like they’ve been essentially every year since 2017, it was a mark of success to have a title opportunity.”
“We started slow. I think at one point we were around 5-10 and we were struggling defensively. We kind of put it together,” said Sullivan.
Upper Perk’s seniors include Proctor (who shifted to shortstop when Kristina Molnar was lost due to injury), catcher Ashley Forrest, Darby Gasda, Morgan Robinson, and pitcher Erin Gray (6 IP, 9H, 5R, 4ER, 2K).
Faella was hopeful when he took on the PJP job after a few years coaching middle school in the Perkiomen Valley school district. But he didn’t truly know the potential.
“It’s funny because we just told them (during the postgame talk) when we were talking, ‘Remember in our winter workouts when we lied to you and told you we could win districts this year?’ Faella said.
“Truthfully, we thought we’d be good. We thought we would exceed last season’s total. My goal for the program was to make districts, try to win double-digit wins, and if everything fell into place, one of these years make PACs. We almost accomplished all of them this year.”
The Pope John Paul II softball team poses with the District 1 trophy after winning the 4A title over Upper Perkiomen on May 23 at Methacton. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
It didn’t start so well – PJP opened the year 2-6. But a three-win week in mid-April turned the tide and a four-win week to close April, which included a 2-1 win over perennial PAC heavyweight Spring-Ford, made Simmers a believer.
The goldfish mentality might have inhibited the Golden Panthers from remembering that feeling. So they made themselves believers again Thursday.
“We realized that we really could do this and that this wasn’t just something we were dreaming of, that we actually had the potential, all the players, to be able to do this,” Simmers said.
