Henderson’s Fouracre silences Haverford in District One opener

HAVERTOWN >> Sam Fouracre will be a pitcher in college, but the West Chester Henderson senior primarily played first base in high school until this season.

When the Warriors lost senior Megan Butts in April due to a season-ending injury, Fouracre became the de facto ace of the team.

“I was recruited to pitch in college, but Megan has always been a little bit better than me and the dynamic always worked better with me at first base

and Megan pitching,” said Fouracre, a southpaw. “With her injury, things had to change and we really didn’t have an option.  I wasn’t really used to pitching in the high school setting. It wasn’t something I had really done before. I was always the first baseman,  so this year has been different. It’s been a challenge for me.”

Fouracre has thrived in a tough Ches-Mont League. Monday afternoon at Haverford Reserve Park, she twirled a four-hit shutout with six strikeouts as No. 18 Henderson defeated 15th-seeded Haverford, 3-0, in the first round of the District One Class AAAA tournament.

“I try to do everything I do for Megan, I feel bad  for her with this being her senior season. She didn’t deserve this,” Fouracre said. “I try to make her proud of me. She’s like my sister, and we’re all like a big family and I knew I had to pick her up.  There isn’t a challenge that I can’t tackle or at least try to tackle.”

Fouracre stymied one of the best-hitting lineups in the Central League, limiting the Fords (13-8) to four softly hit singles. Only once did Haverford manage to get a runner in scoring position — that happened in the first inning with Ali Murphy legged out a bunt single and Danielle Nester followed with an infield hit. Fouracre buckled down and struck out cleanup Lindsay Moran and Madison Lane to retire the side.

The rest of the way was smooth sailing for Fouracre and the Warriors (13-8), who are back in the district tournament after a one-year hiatus.  

“Last year was kind of an upset. We had a real tough year,” Fouracre said. “Now we’re back at it and expect big things.”

The Warriors  are certainly more battle tested than Haverford, competing in a conference known for its elite pitching. Simply put, the Central League, on a whole, doesn’t match up with the talent of some of the Ches-Mont’s best teams. A middle-of-the-pack Ches-Mont squad such as Henderson would be considered one of the top two programs in the Central.

“Every game is a challenge. No team is an easy win,” Fouracre said. “Every team has a lot of talent, so it really prepares us for playoffs.  There are different leagues that are strong, but we feel like we’re ready for them because we play the Ches-Mont teams.”

After Heather Lazer was thrown out at second base in the bottom of the third trying to stretch a single into a double, Fouracre retired the final 14 batters she faced. Second baseman Erin Golden made a nice catch to rob Lauren Meyer of a hit in the fourth.

“My strikeout pitch is more of a riseball, so I really try to get the spin on that and really make sure it starts low, so I can get them chasing,” Fouracre said. “I tried to focus on my spins and not so much the speed. I tried to get better movement on my pitches to try and throw them off.”

It was a frustrating end to an otherwise successful season for Haverford, which placed second in the Central League, two games behind champion Upper Darby.  The Fords simply couldn’t find a groove at the plate.

“It was only our second time seeing a lefty pitcher, so that threw us off. Even when we knew what was coming … it just didn’t click for us today,” Nester said. “It was a fast-moving game (1 hour, 16 minutes) but we were slow-paced in a way. It got taken away from us so quick, and we just never had anything that sparked us today. Usually it’ll take one hit that will spark us, but we didn’t have that. We had tried to be aggressive, but it didn’t work out for us.”

Fouracre set the tone in the top of the first with a triple to the gap in left-center, scoring leadoff hitter Kasey Collins, who singled and stole second base. Fouracre added an RBI groundout in the third and Abby Hunt collected a run-scoring single in the seventh to make it 4-0.

Fouracre was 1 for 3 with a walk and two RBIs. Carly Bullock added two singles and a run scored, while Analise Fouracre — Sam’s sister — chipped in with a single and scored a run.

Despite the loss, Haverford pitcher Jess Epstein hung tough and kept the Fords in the game. The senior allowed three earned runs and a walk on nine hits with three strikeouts.

“Jess did really well. She held it together,” said the senior Nester, who will continue her education at Drexel in the fall. “The only walk (to Fouracre) was basically an intentional walk.

“We just didn’t play our best game, I know that. It’s not that we weren’t trying, it just wasn’t working for us. We got deeper and deeper in a hole that we weren’t getting out of.”