PAC Softball Championship Preview: No. 2 Upper Perkiomen vs. No. 4 Owen J. Roberts

Whether it’s pitching, hitting, or fielding, you will get universal agreement that timeliness is one of the biggest factors that determine success in the postseason.

You’ll get no disagreement from the Upper Perkiomen and Owen J. Roberts softball teams.

Seizing the right moment is what has delivered Upper Perk and Owen J. Roberts to the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship game. The Tribe and WIldcats meet for the conference crown Wednesday night, 7 p.m. at Boyertown.

The underdog finalists earned their place in the final in different ways: Upper Perk was down to its final strike when Ashley Forrest bombed a walk-off grand slam to knock off defending PIAA 6A champion Spring-Ford, 7-4; in the second semifinal, Owen J. Roberts benefitted from the return of Natalie Alldred and pounced all over defending PAC champion Boyertown, which was without injured ace Ella Hurter, in a five-inning, 11-0 rout.

The No. 2 seeded Frontier Division champion Upper Perk returns to the final for the second straight year while No. 4 seed Owen J. Roberts will play for the PAC title for the first time since 2014.

A closer look at the PAC softball championship matchup: 

Records: Owen J. Roberts, 5-5 PAC Liberty, 11-5 PAC, 13-8 overall, PAC No. 4 seed, No. 15 in District 1-6A rankings … Upper Perkiomen, 10-0 PAC Frontier, 14-2 PAC, 16-5 overall, PAC No. 2 seed, No. 2 in District 1-4A rankings.

Head-to-head: On April 26, Owen J. Roberts scored seven runs in its final two at-bats and overtook Upper Perk, 11-6. The teams combined for 27 hits. OJR got three-RBI games from Jacqui Skonieczny and Bella Winnick and a 3-for-4 outing from Liza Flavin while the Wildcats utilized three pitchers, Grace Przborowski, Ashlyn Kunkle and Amelia Atkins.

Upper Perk got a big day from Morgan Robinson (3 hits, 3 RBI) and two-hit games from Darby Gasda, Elizabeth Proctor, Madalyn Dyer and Kristi Molnar.

PAC championship history: Owen J. Roberts has won four PAC titles, its most recent coming in 2009. The Wildcats reached the final in 2010 and 2014, settling for runner-up both times. … Upper Perkiomen is three-time PAC champ. The Tribe were declared co-champions with Spring-Ford in 2018 as division winners (PAC final canceled due to inclement weather). Its other titles came in the league’s first two seasons, 1987 and 1988. The Tribe were finalists in 2017 and 2022.

Owen J. Roberts at a glance: The Wildcats, under coach Steve Winnick, earned the second wild card for the PAC playoffs, finishing a win better than Methacton in PAC play. OJR has proven to be one of the deepest lineups in the PAC. Six starters are batting better than a .350 average including senior outfielder Sophia Grillo (.411 batting average, 16 RBI, 22 runs, 3 HRs), senior first baseman/pitcher Natalie Alldred (.365, 17 RBI, 3 HR), sophomore third baseman Liza Flavin (.413, 15 RBI, 18 runs), sophomore shortstop Rachel Epps (.379, 15 RBI, 18 runs), freshman outfielder Bella Winnick (.353, 11 RBI), sophomore second baseman Jacqui Skonieczny (.360, 15 RBI, 17 runs). Senior catcher Liv Egan is strong behind the plate (.254, 14 RBI, thrown out five of eight attempted base stealers) while junior first baseman/outfielder Sophia Cerimele (.225, 13 RBI, 20 runs, 2 HR) and senior outfielder Hayden Streeter (.234, 13 runs) also figure into the starting lineup.

It’s been pitcher-by-committee throughout much of the regular season while Alldred, a Mercury All-Area first team pitcher in 2022, was recovering from long-term injury. The rotation has included junior Ashlyn Kunkle and freshmen Gracelyn Przborowski and Amelia Atkins. Przborowki was the most frequent starter in the regular season. 

In the semifinal, Alldred gave her team two clean innings to start – her third and fourth innings pitched all season – and made way for Atkins, who allowed two hits and no runs in three innings of relief.

Upper Perkiomen at a glance: Upper Perk has maintained the level of the Frontier Division’s top program under coach Dean Sullivan – six straight division titles – despite a largely new lineup in 2023, a year after reaching the District 1-5A third place game, missing states by one place.

The team was always well-positioned at pitcher with Madalyn Dyer, the team’s lone senior, back in the circle. 

The Tribe’s junior class, featuring infielders Darby Gasda (.460 BA, 11 RBI, 23 runs) and Elizabeth Proctor (.373, 19 RBI) and catcher Forrest (.377, team-high 20 RBI, 3 HR), have been consistent hitters alongside Dyer (.333, 18 RBI) in the heart of the lineup. In addition to sophomore Riley Eden (.464), Upper Perk is relying heavily on a sizable freshman group led by Maddy Deeble (.321, 13 RBI), Ryan Berg (.290, 9 RBI) and Kristina Molnar (.340, 11 RBI). 

Matchup and prediction: OJR’s 11-6 win over Upper Perk on April 26 was one of the eye-opening results of the PAC softball season. It showed the Wildcats were capable of getting after a top pitcher like Dyer, validating a lineup that looked like it could do some damage. OJR will hope for similar success Wednesday and will take confidence from it. That meeting was the biggest blip of Dyer’s season but doesn’t diminish her as one of the area’s elite arms. OJR has an elite pitcher in Alldred, but she is only available on a limited basis – possibly only 2 innings like in the semifinal – and it’s been sometimes rocky for the Wildcats’ other inexperienced pitchers. Getting 15 outs from such young arms in a championship spot is a huge ask. Meanwhile, Dyer expects to be locked in for 21 outs and will get enough run support to raise the plaque that eluded Upper Perk last May. … Upper Perkiomen 8, Owen J. Roberts 4