Upper Merion thwacks Norristown with extra-base hits
WEST NORRITON >> Fields without fences are becoming less and less common so when Upper Merion pitcher Olivia Sborlini stepped into the box at Norristown on Monday, she didn’t deviate.
Even with a lot of open room, the Vikings’ senior ace kept her approach the same and netted a triple from her first inning at-bat. Two batters later, Allie Moffett did the same then put a ball way out into center and sprinted around the bases for a home run.
Upper Merion’s bats came to play when the Vikings visited the Eagles and with four triples and two home runs among the team’s 12 hits, it led to a five inning 12-2 win over host Norristown.
“Our big thing was to just hit where the pitch was pitched,” Sborlini, who went 3-for-4 with two triples and a solo homer, said. “We weren’t trying to pull the ball, we weren’t trying to hit it that far, we were just trying to get good contact and it seemed to work.”
The pitcher, who also struck out seven in her four innings of work, scored four times and drove in four runs out of the No. 2 spot. Moffett, the No. 5 hitter, went 3-for-4 with a homer, single and triple, scoring twice with two RBI.
Leadoff hitter Dezerea Kandy reached base three times and scored all three times, also stroking a double for another extra-base hit. Second baseman Alysaa Adinolfi had the team’s fourth triple, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and run while No. 9 hitting catcher Lauren Del Guidice had two hits and scored a run.
Upper Merion (9-1, 7-0 SOL American) scored three in the top half of the first thanks to Sborlini’s triple, an RBI groundout by Bridget Valeri and Moffett’s home run. But Norristown (3-8, 1-6 SOL) came back in the bottom half of the frame, scoring two runs when Mya Humphries ripped a three-bagger of her own, then came in on an overthrow on a relay trying to get her at third base.
“Every game we’re getting a little better,” Eagles coach Don Berry said. “It may not show in the scoreboard but we are getting better. I’m not happy with losing, but we’re getting better as the season goes on.
“At the beginning of the year, we weren’t where we are now. As long as we keep progressing and getting a little better, that’s all I can ask for. The hustle and them getting better.”
Norristown had three errors, and each helped Upper Merion stay alive and get more chances to swing its bats. The Vikings plated four in the top half of the second inning, the big blow a two-run triple by Sborlini.
The Eagles’ response in the first inning seemed to spark Upper Merion, both offensively and in the field. Sborlini and freshman Kayla Warren, who pitched the fifth, didn’t allow another hit and Norristown only had two more base runners after the first inning.
Both of those came in the third, which Sborlini ended by striking out Humphries in a big spot.
“I think we like the competition,” Moffett said. “The more that they come back at us, the harder we want to go at them. That’s good for us.”
While Norristown only had one hit, it did work some tough counts off Sborlini while defensively, second baseman Vanessa Lambert had a nice game, making five put-outs while Humphries made a couple of good plays at third base.
Upper Merion added three more runs in the fourth when Sborlini led off with her homer, and Moffett and Adinolfi each tripled around a two-out error. The Vikings added two more to put the early ending into effect in the fifth when Kandy scored on a fielder’s choice after doubling and Moffett drove in a run on an RBI groundout.
Vikings coach John Whitney said his players did a good job of collective hitting Monday, as well as having the right response when Norristown put a mark on the board.
Sborlini and Moffett said that with their lineup, it can be boom or bust with the bats. On days like Monday, one or two big hits early seems to get everyone rolling while there have been days where the entire lineup struggles to collect hits.
“I was just trying to get the bat on the ball,” Sborlini said. “I wasn’t trying to do anything fancy with it, just trying to make some big contact.”
