Plymouth Whitemarsh puts everything together in win over Upper Dublin
WHITEMARSH >> Everything clicked for Plymouth Whitemarsh Tuesday afternoon.
Molly Moore pitched a complete game with 16 strikeouts while the offense combined for 13 hits in a 12-5 Suburban One League Liberty Division win over Upper Dublin at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
“We’ve been struggling recently,” PW coach Mike Perez said. “We had a tough start with a lot of good competition. It’s nice to see the bats open up a little bit and obviously Molly had a phenomenal game. Anytime you can count on that kind of performance it makes it a little bit easier.”
Moore surrendered five runs on six hits while walking four batters. She struck out the side in four of the six innings and held the Cardinals to two hits over the first five frames.
“Going inside with the backdoor curve,” the sophomore said was key to her success, “then later in the game the changeup.”
“She was definitely on,” Perez said. “She can be a strikeout pitcher. At times she’s a pitch-to-contact-and-get-groundballs kind of pitcher, but today they were just missing. We’ll take it. She can definitely be that kind of pitcher when she wants to be.”
Offensively, the Colonials (2-3, 1-2 SOL Liberty) got started right away. They scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Moore and Molly Lynch had RBI singles before Regan Gehman knocked in three runs with a bases-clearing double.
After Upper Dublin (1-2, 1-2 SOL Liberty) scored three runs across the second and third innings, PW matched them in the bottom of the third. Marissa Perez had an RBI double and scored on a wild pitch while Carly Rosenberger grounded out to bring a run home.
The Colonials blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth. Gehman and Perez started the inning with a pair of singles. Lauryn Kane plated Gehman with a one-out single and Talia Carr knocked in Perez and Kane with a two-run double. Moore doubled home Carr to extend the lead to nine, 12-3.
“We’ve had spots where we’ve exploded,” Mike Perez said. “Never really put together a game like this just yet, but that’s what this offense can do when it’s all clicking.
“It’s great to have that kind of production with no holes in the lineup and even on the bench – I was able to get some subs some swings which is always nice as well,” he added after the No. 7, 8 and 9 hitters combined for five RBI and five runs scored.
Carr, Moore and Marissa Perez each had three hits. Carr had two RBI and two runs scored, Moore two RBI and one run scored and Perez one RBI and two runs scored. Gehman went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored.
Chloe Foster started in the circle for Upper Dublin. She struck out nine batters over five innings while allowing 12 runs on 13 hits. Offensively she was 1-for-2 with a walk and hit-by-pitch. She had one RBI and one run scored.
Ally McDavid had an RBI single to get the Cardinals on the board in the top of the second inning. They cut their deficit to two, 5-3, in the top of the third when Kaelin Penna hit a fly ball that was mishandled and two runs scored.
The rest of their offensive output came in the seventh inning. Dani Lucidi singled and advanced to third on two wild pitches. She scored on Foster’s double and Foster crossed the plate on a Penna RBI single.
“We are still a young team and need to find a way to fire on all cylinders by putting the offense and defense together, but we are confident we can get to that point,” Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer said. “We are working on getting better every day and learning from our miscues, and PW did a good job of making the most out of a few of our mistakes today.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 12, Upper Dublin 5
Upper Dublin 012 000 2 – 5
Plymouth Whitemarsh 503 040 x – 12
WP: Molly Moore7 IP 16 K 4 BB 6 H 5 R
LP: Chloe Foster 5 IP 9 K 1 BB 13 H 12 R
2B: UD: Chloe Foster. PW: Talia Carr 2, Molly Moore, Regan Gehman, Marissa Perez.
