Garnet Valley in good hands with Tomasetti and Alderman

RADNOR >> Few teams in Delaware County have a one-two punch as potent as Garnet Valley’s Sam Tomasetti and Reva Alderman.

Tomasetti, a senior shortstop, and Alderman, a senior third baseman, are at the forefront of the Jaguars’ midseason resurgence. Both All-Delco players, Tomasetti and Aldermen are constantly one-upping each other at the plate and in the field. With a combination of power and contact, they strike fear in the eyes of opposing pitchers in the Central League.

But they’re certainly not out to show who’s better. In tandem, Tomasetti and Alderman, both of whom will play Division I softball next spring, simply are trying to make the Jags a better club.

Wednesday afternoon, they combined to hit 6 for 7 with a home run, three doubles, three RBIs, five runs scored and a walk as Garnet Valley blanked Radnor, 6-0.

It was the Jags’ fifth straight victory.

“Me and Reva are both very competitive, but I think we push each other to do well,” said Tomasetti, who has been a first- or second-team All-Delco in

each of her first three years. “I also want to see her do well, so even if I have a bad game … I’m not trying to do better than her. We’re both trying to help the team.”

Alderman, who spent the last two seasons as a catcher, earning All-Delco honors at that position in 2015, leads the county in homers. She hit a bomb off Radnor ace Brooke Nicander (five Ks) to the fence in left field for an RBI double.

Tomasetti and Alderman, who are also teammates on the Chaos 18U Gold travel team, have never put pressure on themselves to carry the team, even when the squad skidded out of the chute with three straight losses.

“We all play as a team, whether we win or lose,” said Alderman, who will move to the outfield next spring when she continues her playing career at Lehigh. She’ll major in engineering. “We just realized that, OK, we (she and Tomasetti) have a lot to offer but the other girls do, too. So, I didn’t put any pressure on myself.”

Tomasetti was a triple shy of the cycle, going 4 for 4 with a homer, double, two RBIs and three runs. In addition to her double, Alderman walked and singled.  

Tomasetti laced a pitch to left field for a two-run dinger in the first inning to give Garnet Valley a 2-0 lead.

With a 5-3 record, both overall and in the Central League, the Jags are hitting their stride at the right time.

“We prepared so much in the winter, I thought we were going to come out looking good our first games, but we didn’t. I think we were over-thinking it,” Tomasetti said. “Once we lost those games that we did in the beginning, it made us realize that we have to be more focused and determined and use our ability the best we can.”

Their offense isn’t the lone reason the Jaguars are an improved club. Junior pitcher Allison Ferrante, who tossed a five-hit shutout with three strikeouts, is a big reason. Tomasetti noted that Ferrante is starting to display a little “cockiness” from the circle, which is a good thing.

“At the beginning it was hard to get back into it, it’s a different season and new things are happening, and now that we are winning, things are a lot better and I’m a lot more comfortable,” Ferrante said. “I have a great field around me. I look to Reva and Sam a lot to help me, and I’m getting confidence from them.”

First-year head coach George White expected there would be a learning curve, but is happy to see his vision of the team taking shape on the diamond.

“At first, it might have been new coach, new system, girls getting used to me and me and getting used to them,” White said. “I knew we could be good and it was only a matter of time before we turned it around.”

Radnor had two runners on base in three of the seven innings, but failed to crack the scoreboard. In the fourth, with runners on first and second and one out, Ferrante struck out five-hole hitter Kim Mullarkey and forced Cassie Maz to ground out to third for the final out. Ferrante also worked around one-out trouble in the fifth and seventh.

Sydney Alijan had a pair of singles for the Raiders (5-4, 5-3).

“Maybe in the beginning we weren’t bonding as well,” said Ferrante, who effectively painted the corners of the strike zone and utilized her drop curve to keep Radnor’s bats at bay. “Now we’re just getting a lot more comfortable playing with one another.”

In other Central League action:

Upper Darby 10, Strath Haven 3 >> The first-place and unbeaten Royals (9-0, 8-0) got a big performance from freshman Lexie Witmer, who had two triples and two RBIs. Brooke Jones and Kerianne McGee also hit three-baggers in the win.

Springfield 6, Ridley 1 >> Victoria Ciasullo powered the Cougars (8-2, 7-2) with two hits and two RBIs as Tori DePietro earned the win from the circle. Julia Buckley paced the Raiders with three hits and an RBI.

Penncrest 16, Lower Merion 1 >>The Lions (5-4, 5-3) erupted for 18 hits, including eight that went for extra bases. Julia Eckels was 3 for 4 with a homer, triple, six RBIs and three runs scored. Kailey Martin went 4 for 4 with a double, triple and three RBIs. Sam Crann added three hits, including a triple, and three runs scored.

Haverford 15, Harriton 2 >> Ashley Murphy was 2 for 2 with a double and three RBIs to lead the Fords (6-4, 6-2). Ali Murphy (two hits), Lauren Vanstone (two hits), Lexi Culbertson (double) and Hope Coacher each drove in a pair of runs.

Conestoga 13, Marple Newtown 8 >> Paige Benasutti had a two-run double and Liz Conca went 2 for 3 with two RBIs in the loss for the Tigers (1-7).

In the Del Val League:

Chichester 16, Penn Wood 1 >> Hayley Coale (3 for 4, 3 RBIs) crushed a home run and Alex Maher (2 for 3) slugged a double for the Eagles (7-1, 6-1).

In the Catholic League:

Cardinal O’Hara 15, Neumann-Goretti 0 >> Lexie Cervella fueled the Lions’ offense with a triple and four RBIs. Emily Loomis went 2 for 2 with a triple, three RBIs and three runs scored, while Mary Pat Brough hurled a one-hit shutout over three innings.