Rain has SOL/BAL waiting to finish Softball Carpenter Cup title game

PHILADELPHIA >> The SOL/BAL Carpenter Cup team woke up Wednesday morning not knowing if they would be playing any softball. When they went to sleep Wednesday night, they were well on their way to becoming champions.

After learning that they qualified for the championship bracket thanks to the results of morning games, SOL/BAL went 2-0 against Delaware North and Delaware South and led Jersey Shore, 8-0, in the top of the third inning before rain postponed the 15th Annual Carpenter Cup championship game at FDR Park in Philadelphia.

“This morning we were all just crossing our fingers,” North Penn’s Amanda Greaney said, “hoping we get in because we knew it was a slim chance. Everything that needed to happen happened. We got here and we were ready to play.”

The championship game will continue Monday at a time to be determined.

The locals were the away team in all three matchups, as they were in their lone win Monday, when they went 1-1-1. They took full advantage of batting first, scoring in all three first innings Wednesday and totaling seven first-inning runs.

“Scoring first is always a good mentality,” Greaney, who had an RBI in each first inning, said. “You go in, and then first-time defense you know you’re ahead. It’s always a good feeling.”

The SOL/BAL squad also played excellent defense after struggling in the field during pool play Monday. They made no errors Wednesday and made plenty of impressive plays, including a double play and a pair of deep in-the-hole stops by Bean Hughes at shortstop.

“Monday we made a couple errors,” Greaney said. “We talked about it with each other, figured out what we needed to do, made the adjustments and we played really well today.”

In the quarterfinals, SOL/BAL defeated Delaware North, 6-4. Greaney gave them a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the first inning and Mady Volpe put them ahead, 2-1, in the third with a bases-loaded bunt. They led the rest of the way, with runs scoring on a Madison Silber hit by pitch, Greaney walk and two when Korynn Bischoff hit into an error. In the circle, Volpe allowed one run on four hits over four innings. Abigail Burns surrendered three runs on five hits in three innings.

In the semifinals Volpe and Burns combined for a one-hitter in a 10-0 six-inning win over Delaware South. In four innings Volpe struck out five batters to one walk and allowed one hit. Burns pitched the final two, striking out one batter to no walks.

“They both were throwing amazing,” Greaney, who caught all six innings, said. “Mady came in — from the first inning she just shut them down. Her rise-ball was working, her screw, everything was working really well. Then Abby came in, just mixing everything up and shut them down. It was good.”

Greaney and Volpe had RBI singles in the first inning. Hughes doubled the lead with a two-run single in the second and Tara Tumasz made it 5-0 with an RBI base hit. Greaney extended the lead with a two-run single in the fourth and the SOL/BAL lineup added three more in the seventh — a two-run Tumasz triple and a Silber groundout — to take a 10-0 lead.

In the final, SOL/BAL scored four runs in each of the first two innings. Greaney and Tumasz had RBI singles while another run scored on an error and Tumasz stole home on a first-and-third play. Sam Nuneviller hit a two-run homer in the second, Gianna Iadonisi scored on an error and Silber doubled in a run. Volpe had five strikeouts through two scoreless, no-hit innings before the rains came and forced a postponement.