Upper Merion defeats Hurricanes to earn state tourney berth
Malvern >> With its back to the wall, and its season in danger of ending, Upper Merion displayed plenty of never-say-die grittiness in its 2-1, 10-inning win against host Villa Maria Academy in a PIAA District 1 5A softball quarterfinal Wednesday.
Twice the No. 3 seed Hurricanes loaded the bases with no outs and the score tied at 1-1 – the first time, in the bottom of the sixth inning; the second time, in the bottom of the ninth – and on both occasions the Vikings stood tall and shut them out.
A loss would have meant the end of the season for the No. 6 seed Vikings (14-8) – but the win gives Upper Merion one of the four District 1 berths in the upcoming PIAA 5A state tournament.
“We really played with heart today, played for each other,” said Upper Merion head coach Melissa Toto. “None of our girls would take personal credit for this win, because each of them could look at the girl next to her and say, ‘We wouldn’t be here without you.’”
On the mound, Viking starting pitcher Kayla Warren hurled seven innings, scattering eight hits, allowing just one run and getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the bottom of the sixth with a double play and a strikeout. Olivia Barr pitched the final three innings, and facing a bases-loaded, no out situation in the bottom of the ninth, set the Hurricanes down 1-2-3.
“Kayla pitched great for seven innings, and then Liv came in to relieve and picked up right where Kayla left off,” said Toto. “They both did a great job pitching out of jams.”
Upper Merion scored a run in the top of the first inning. Vanessa Hutchinson and Lauren Del Giudice started the game with a couple of walks, then Hutchinson moved to third on Katelyn O’Brien’s fly out to right. When Del Giudice ran to second and drew a Villa Maria throw, Hutchinson raced home with the game’s first run.
Villa Maria tied the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning, then it was scoreless until the top of the 10th inning.
The Vikings’ Sammie Deskiewicz (Upper Merion’s last batter in the ninth) took second base to start the 10th inning. Following two outs, Hutchinson singled past shortstop to score Deskiewicz to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the 10th, with a Villa Maria runner on second to start the inning, Barr got a strikeout, a groundout to first, and a fly ball to left, ending the game.
Villa Maria star senior pitcher Alyssa Viscardo, in the final game of her high school career, struck out 14 batters.
Toto said, “My girls wanted this game so bad, they weren’t letting anyone stop them. The whole team believed in themselves – they know how hard they worked to get here, and today they really delivered. We kept going and we didn’t get down on ourselves [in adversity]. Alyssa Viscardo did a great job, and [Villa Maria] backed her up, hit the ball well behind her.”
“This is the first time in my 15 years at Upper Merion that we’ve gone to States,” said Toto. “It might be the first time that Upper Merion [softball] has ever gone to States.”
