Upper Darby’s dream season ends in first-round loss

SHIPPENSBURG >> Upper Darby freshman catcher Lexie Witmer called the experience one of the greatest of her life. Her teammates would probably say the same.

Upper Darby, the District One fourth-place finisher, made the PIAA Class AAAA tournament for the first time in eight years. The trip to states was a memorable ride, but it ended with a thud Monday at Shippensburg University.

While the Royals held a two-run lead, they hurt themselves with spotty defense, while Chambersburg featured a lineup that hardly swung and missed. The District Three champs pounded out eight hits and took advantage of six Upper Darby errors on the way to a 7-2 victory.

With their elimination in the first round of the state tourney, the Royals ended the season with a 21-4 overall record and as Central League champs.

“They’re an amazing team,” Witmer said of the Trojans, who scored seven unanswered runs. “We came out fired up and we knew it would be a tough game today. They just got the hits when they needed them the most.”

The Royals committed three errors that helped Chambersburg push across five runs in the fourth. The Trojans (22-4), who captured the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference title, sent nine batters to the plate in the frame. The rally started when catcher Sam Bender was hit by a pitch, and courtesy runner Kara Neidigh scored the tying run on a bloop single by nine-hole batter Lexi Leedy.

The inning worsened for the Royals.

A fielder’s choice knocked in the the go-ahead run and a pair of errors helped Chambersburg tack on in the inning.

“It’s frustrating because we are usually very good with our defense,” Upper Darby coach Christina Tomczuk said. “We just had one of those games (in the field).”

Chambersburg’s big bat was Leah Hunt, who smacked an RBI single for the fifth run in the fourth inning. Chambersburg’s contact-heavy approach at the dish was a challenge for the freshman battery of pitcher Rebecca Sorrentino and Witmer.

“We had more nerves than anything. This is states, so we got a little carried away and started making bad throws, which is understandable. A lot of things are happening at once out there,” Witmer said. “Rebecca hit her spots and did a good job. It was just that one inning they got a lot of runs against us.”

On the opposite side, Chambersburg junior pitcher Laken Myers settled in after a rough first two innings. The Royals got their first run in the second when Myers was called for an illegal pitch. She started her wind-up and stopped, which in baseball terms is a balk. Brooke Jones, who singled, was able to trot home from third base.

Later in the frame, Kerianne McGee hit a liner back to Myers. The ball deflected off the pitcher’s glove, allowing Sorrentino to score to make it 2-0.

“Our coaches made us get our focus together and our defense had to bear down. We just had to keep it together,” Myers said, who permitted three Upper Darby batters to reach base after the second inning. She gave up five hits and one walk while striking out five. “After the first inning, we weren’t hitting (Sorrentino) as well as we could, but the second time we got up we were able to hit her harder and we could get some solid hits. That’s what got us going, I think.”

Myers’ speed proved to be a tough match for the Royals.

“Well, in my at-bats I only really saw four pitches, I think,” Witmer said. “I think she had a riseball that was catching some people off. She was fast and we just weren’t expecting it, even though we should have. We hit some balls hard, but they just had good defense.”

The Trojans added their seventh run on an RBI single by Maggie Myers in the sixth inning.

Despite a shaky showing by her defense, Tomczuk was proud of the way Sorrentino battled through the struggles. Sorrentino allowed six earned runs on eight hits with one strikeout, but her pitching line was a bit deceiving due to the Royals’ defensive miscues.

“She really just does a good job of being relaxed. It’s amazing to watch as a freshman and I can’t wait to see her come back and how much better she’ll be every year,” Tomczuk said. “Nobody was getting real big hits off of her. She’s fun to watch pitch. Nothing rattles her, and I think a lot of it has to do with not telling her too much. We kind of let her and Lexie do their thing, and they know how to work together.”

The Royals turned a double play when Carli Benozich caught a line drive at third and fired to McGee to nail a runner off first base. With the Royals clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third, All-Delco center fielder Sam Witmer gunned down the tying run at home, a perfect strike to her sister Lexie.

Benozich was 2 for 3 and Sam Witmer chipped in with a single for the Royals.

“It was a great season and I’m just happy that we made it this far,” said Lexie Witmer, who will play summer travel ball with the Delco Rage organization. “It stinks to lose, but we’ve come so far. Next year is going to be even better.”