Dyer, Upper Perkiomen softball blank Spring-Ford

ROYERSFORD >> Upper Perkiomen pitcher Madalyn Dyer got herself into and worked her way out of trouble in nearly every inning Wednesday night at Spring-Ford. The biggest jam of all came in the bottom of the seventh with runners on second and third with one out and the Indians leading by only one.

But Dyer coaxed a bouncer to the circle and a popup – one of many on the night – and the Indians came away with a 1-0 win in a Pioneer Athletic Conference crossover contest at Ram Park.

Erin Gray knocked in the only run with a double in the fifth and Spring-Ford stranded 11 runners. Jess Fliszar took the tough loss, despite allowing only three hits and striking out 11.

“Spring-Ford’s always been a tough team for us,” Dyer said. “Today it was pure teamwork. This is a big win for us. Collectively, we had a positive mindset.”

“It’s a big goal,” Gray added. “Especially since they were state champions last year.”

Spring-Ford (5-2 PAC, 6-2 overall) left a runner on third in the first and then put runners on second and third with one out in the second. But right fielder Genevieve McKeehan made a good running catch of a line drive, with the runner on third not having time to tag up, and Dyer fanned the next batter.

Then the Rams loaded the bases in the third, but Dyer escaped again with a popup to short. The Upper Perk pitcher’s only easy inning was a 1-2-3 frame in the sixth against the bottom of the batting order.

“We had several chances, didn’t get the big hit,” Rams coach Shawn Corropolese said. “The bases loaded, runners on second and third with one out in the last inning. Give it to them. They made the plays. Their pitcher threw well.”

Meanwhile, the Indians (6-1, 7-4) had only one hit – a line drive single to left in the first by Elizabeth Proctor – through the first four innings. Fliszar struck out the side in the fourth to complete a string of seven outs in a row.

But McKeehan beat out a grounder to short to open the fifth and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Morgan Robinson. That brought Gray to the plate, and she drove a 1-1 pitch into deep left-center, easily scoring McKeehan.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play and see where it goes,” Gray said. “I had to back Madalyn up.”

“Erin is one of the players who gets her opportunities and she came up big,” Upper Perkiomen coach Dean Sullivan said. “Tomorrow she’s going to be on the mound against Pope John Paul.”

Morgan Lester lined a single past third to start the Rams’ seventh and Caitlin Ashley hit a hard grounder down the third base line for a double.

But Dyer was again equal to the task as she held the runners on the grounder to the circle and got her 10th fly ball out of the night to wrap up the win.

“They did their job,” Dyer said concerning the defense. “I’m very thankful for them. I wasn’t doing anything special. I just wanted to hit my spots.”

“We work a lot on line drives and hitting the ball hard,” Corropolese said. “We’ve been doing that all year. She had us off balance today. They’ve been a solid program for years. Dean’s a good coach.”

Gray said the team has been using the same winning combination all year.

“Good defense, good pitching,” she said. “And timely hits. Just trying to do our job.”

“They’re a good team,” Sullivan said concerning the Rams, noting that his team had not beaten them since 2017. “Having them strand those runners was key. Madalyn pitched great. Our defense made good plays. It’s a big accomplishment for our small school.”

	ab	r	h	bi		ab	r	h	bi
Gasda 2b	2	0	0	0	Lester 2b	3	0	2	0
Berg cf	3	0	0	0	Jacobe pr	0	0	0	0
Proctor 3b	3	0	1	0	Jarrell cf	2	0	0	0
Dyer p	3	0	0	0	Ashley rf	4	0	2	0
Forrest c	3	0	0	0	Gancasz	3	0	0	0
Molnar ss	2	0	0	0	Fliszar p	2	0	0	0
McKeehan rf	3	1	1	0	Haring cr	0	0	0	0
Robinson lf	0	0	0	0	Burgess 3b	3	0	0	0
Gray dp	3	0	1	1	Naylor 1b	3	0	1	0
McCrmck 1b	0	0	0	0	Eross lf	3	0	0	0
					Bainbrdg c	3	0	1	0
					Legassie cr	0	0	0	0
Totals	22	1	3	1	Totals	26	0	6	0

E-Lester. DP-Spring-Ford. LOB-Upper Perkiomen 5, Spring-Ford 11. 2B —Gray, Ashley. S-Robinson, Jarrell. SB-Naylor. CS-Molnar.

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Upper Perkiomen
Dyer (W)	7	6	0	0	5	5
Spring-Ford
Fliszar (L)	7	3	1	1	3	11
T- 1:36