Plymouth Whitemarsh continues surge with win over William Tennent

WARMINSTER >> A young Plymouth Whitemarsh team is growing up in a hurry.

Fresh off a thrilling win over Quakertown, Colonial bats stayed wide awake on Tuesday, swinging their way to a 9-4 victory over William Tennent in a Suburban One League non-division game.

“We kind of struggled early in the season, but I think we’re coming together as a team,” said shortstop Marissa Perez, who reached base all four times she was up to bat on Tuesday. “It’s really exciting to see everybody build and grow together.”

The Colonials raised their overall record to 6-3 and will host Upper Moreland Thursday. The Panthers are now 5-3 overall and will travel to Abington Thursday.

“I was a little nervous this might be a bit of a trap game coming off that high from beating (SOL Liberty rival) Quakertown,” Colonials coach Mike Perez said, “so I was happy to see we came out early, swinging aggressively and making good contact.

“That’s a good team (Tennent) — good team, good pitcher. It was nice to get it started (Monday) and see it keep rolling.”

Caelin Kosvitch’s RBI single helped the Colonials to a 2-0 lead in their first at-bat against Panthers right hander Katie LePlaunt.

Morgan Kocher drew a walk and eventually came in to score to put the Panthers on the board in the bottom half against Colonials right hander Molly Moore.

PW broke it open in the second.

After Moore scored on an error, Haylie Lindley smacked a two-run double to widen the gap to 5-1. Anna Coulter drove in two for Tennent in the bottom half to tighten things to 5-3, but then Perez knocked in a pair with a flare to right to boost the margin to 7-3 in the fourth.

“We’re a really young team, and I think we’re learning how to trust each other and how to play with each other,” said Perez, who drove in two runs and scored another. “We’re working hard at practice, growing a lot, and I just think we’re finally learning how to play with each other.

“I feel confident (at the plate), especially having my teammates behind me. I know they fully have my back, and even if I don’t get on base, they’re there to pick me up. And I think that’s what’s so special about our team.”

A towering double to center by Kalina Childers brought in Perez to make it 8-3 Colonials.

Casey Yacovelli’s RBI double drew the Panthers to within 8-4 in the fifth, but Moore got locked in.

The righty got a strikeout to end the fifth and struck out the side in the sixth. With her in control, PW padded its lead in the seventh, with Lauryn Kane doubling in a run for the final margin.

Moore finished with 12 strikeouts for the win.

“She gets dialed in, for sure,” coach Perez said of the righty. “She steps up in the moment when you need her. She shines in the big spots.”

LePlaunt struck out five for the Panthers. Five errors made things tougher for Tennent.

“As a team, we just need to collectively come together,” LePlaunt said. “We’re slowly starting to string together our offensive lineup. We’re in the thick of our crossover games right now, so we’re just trying to power through and keep up the momentum.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh 9, William Tennent 4
Plymouth Whitemarsh 230 300 1 – 9 12 1
William Tennnent 120 010 0 – 4 6 5
WP: Molly Moore (7IP, 4R, 3ER, 6H, 12K, 4BB, 1HBP).
LP: Katie LePlaunt (7IP, 9R, 5ER, 12H, 5K, 3BB, 1HBP).
2B: PW-Lauryn Kane, Haylie Lindley 2, Kalina Childers; WT-Casey Yacovelli, Anna Coulter.
Multiple hits: PW-Moore 2-for-5, 3R; Kane 3-for-5, 3R, RBI; Lindley 3-for-4, R, 2RB; WT-Yacovelli 3-for-4, RBI.