Kane collects kudos on special Sun Valley senior day
ASTON — Kylie Kane couldn’t have asked for a bigger moment.
The Sun Valley senior stood in the batter’s box in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gianna Daly and Hailey Lipka were the ducks on the pond, having worked back-to-back walks.
On a day when the Vanguards would honor seniors Kane, Daly and Maddie Koons, there was extra pressure to deliver. Down two runs, and facing rival Chichester, Kane collected her thoughts and took a deep breath. Rose Rybak stared her down from the pitcher’s circle. Kane locked in, swung and connected for a three-base hit to tie the game.
“Especially on my senior day,” she said, “it felt pretty good.”
Freshman pitcher Brianna Lawson knocked home Kane with the go-ahead single, and the Vanguards held on for a 6-5 victory Wednesday.
“It feels good to have run support behind you,” said Lawson, who retired Chichester’s Mckenna Glover on strikes to end the game. “I just want to do what I can to help when I’m batting.”
Sun Valley coach Shawn Potter joked about having a sleepless night had his Vanguards not found a way to pull out the win.
“It’s our first senior day win in four years,” Kane said, “and it feels good to get one on ours.”
The win was a big one for the Vanguards, who were behind the Eagles in the District 1 Class 5A power rankings at the beginning of the week. Sun Valley (8-11) now sits in ninth place, one spot ahead of Chichester (6-8). The top 16 teams qualify for the district tournament next week.
It was learned during the post-game senior day ceremony that Koons’ favorite memory playing softball was the first home run she hit freshman year. Well, perhaps her new favorite memory will be the bomb she launched over the fence in dead center field, a two-run jack that gave Sun Valley a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
“That one felt pretty good,” Koons said. “I wasn’t sure right away if it was a home run because I couldn’t see where it was, then once I saw it, I thought it was a great.”
Kane was on second base at the time of Koons’ dinger.
“I knew right away it was gone,” she said.
That early 3-0 advantage didn’t hold, thanks to a feisty Chi team that eventually solved the rookie Lawson in the fourth inning, scoring four runs on five base knocks. Marissa Rybak and Maddie Anastasia smacked back-to-back RBI singles, then Ava Franz came through with the second of her three hits to drive in the tying run. Moments later, Marissa Taylor stroked a run-scoring single to give Chi a 4-3 lead.
Franz is one of the top softball players in the county. An All-Delco as a freshman in 2018, Franz also made a pair of heady plays at shortstop, robbing Alayna Lloyd of a would-be single before turning a 6-3 double play to retire the side in the sixth.
“We definitely are fighting hard, but we just can’t seem to figure out how to hold it together for seven innings,” Franz said. “We’re trying to really focus on playoffs. We want to try and get a higher seed, but we’re more focused on winning the playoff game, whether we play a good team, whether we have home field or not … it doesn’t matter.”
The Vanguards got offensive production from several players. Lipka was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Kane was 2-for-4 with a double, triple, two runs and a pair of RBIs. Koons homered and was on base three times. Lloyd walked twice and Grace Keeley chipped in with a pair of knocks. Daly walked and scored a run.
Not a bad senior day at all. And now the Vanguards can turn their attention toward the district playoffs.
“We have to keep our energy up the entire game and we’ll be good,” Koons said.
In the Catholic League:
Bonner & Prendergast 14, Archbishop Wood 5 >> The Pandas (10-9) banged out 17 hits and cruised in their Catholic League tournament opener.
Biz DeStefano hurled a complete game, allowing no earned runs while striking out five. Jackie Niemic paced the Pandas at the plate with two doubles and two RBIs. Mia Falcone finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Madison Thompson chipped in with a three-hit, two-RBI game.
Angelina Brooks came off the bench to deliver a pair of singles to go with two RBIs and two runs scored.
In the Central League:
Conestoga 9, Radnor 0 >> The Pioneers clinched a share of the Central League championship with Haverford. Lauren Lofland tossed a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Faith Walker collected two doubles, an RBI and a run scored for the Pioneers. Jenny and Alison Noll also had two-baggers.
Audrey Rosenblum singled and stole a base for the Raiders. Tess Massaro pitched well in relief.
Springfield 5, Penncrest 1 >> Jenna Casasanto pitched a two-hit complete game and Jordan Galloway tripled and scored a run for the Cougars, who plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Caitlin Chambers went 2-for-4 with a pair of ribbies, while Kaitlin Siddons and Casey McAnally each singled and scored a run.
Liz Fyfe had a hit and a run scored for the Lions.
In the Bicentennial League:
Christian Academy 7, Phil-Mont Christian 5 >> TCA second baseman Carlie Mannion threw a runner out at home to end a rally in the sixth inning.
Sarah Force led the Crusaders on offense with three hits, a walk, a run scored and an RBI. Alyssa Mastella pitched a three-hitter with five strikeouts.
