Big inning lifts Perk Valley past Owen J. Roberts, 7-2

BUCKTOWN >> They needed runs. And the hits weren’t falling.

Thank goodness for Rachel Helverson … and her head.

Helverson supplied the game-changing sacrifice bunt, two runs scoring as the throw from the catcher bounced off her helmet and into right field, as the Vikings used a six-run fifth inning to come away with a 7-2 victory over Owen J. Roberts Monday night.

The win keeps Perkiomen Valley (11-3 PAC-10) firmly entrenched in the No. 2 position in the PAC-10, two games ahead of Methacton, which swept Pottstown in a doubleheader in the afternoon.

Emily Oltman got the win in the circle, throwing the first four innings while allowing two earned and five hits while striking out one.

Abby Wild foreshadowed the impending storm as her electric performance on the mound stole the show. The righty reliever threw three innings, allowing only one hit, one walk and five strikeouts, while also benefitting from a wacky triple play in the bottom of the fifth.

“I was trying to keep the ball moving because OJR is a real good team,” Wild said. “We didn’t want them to get any big hits, even though we had the lead.”

The loss drops the Wildcats to sixth in the PAC-standings, a half-game back from Boyertown and a game back from Pottsgrove for the last Final Four position. OJR received two hits apiece from Brianna Smith (RBI) and Alissa Vining but couldn’t get the big hit when it mattered, stranding eight runners on base.

“We had a lot of mental mistakes tonight,” OJR head coach Jen Beaver said. “We made errors at times when we couldn’t afford to, especially with runners on. To our credit, we were fighting. We had runners on in many of the innings but we couldn’t capitalize and get the key hit.”

The Vikings did, however … it just took a little bit.

The first four innings represented target practice for PV as all their hits, whether hard hit, soft hit, deep or shallow, found OJR gloves.

The fifth inning served as an instant remedy.

Jordan Sell (two hits) reached on a leadoff double before being knocked in by an RBI single through the right side from Oltman to make it 1-1. Ana Bruni then reached on a single moving Alex Vullings (courtesy runner for Oltman) setting the table for Helverson’s tide-changing sacrifice bunt. The senior laid down a softly hit bunt right above home plate, prompting the OJR catcher to come out and field. The catcher’s throw grazed Helverson’s helmet, sending the ball deep into right field allowing Vullings and Bruni (who hesitated at first) to score to make it 3-1. Following an Impink walk, Noelle McCullough reached base via error, the errant throw allowing Helverson to come home from second to make it 4-1. Wild and Haley Streeper RBI groundouts rounded out the Vikings scoring in the inning, which proved more than enough for Wild.

The triple play only helped matters for Wild as she escaped a two-on, no-out situation in the bottom half of the inning. Smith hit a popup to Bruni at short, prompting the infield fly rule. Bruni then dropped the ball right above the second base bag, sending the OJR runner at second scrambling to third, only to be thrown out by Helverson. With confusion arising, the OJR runner on first advanced to second but was then caught in between second and third and tagged out by Bruni to complete the 4-5-1-6 triple play and end the threat.