Bouchard blast lifts Unionville past Upper Merion
EAST MARLBOROUGH>>The first two at bats didn’t go so well for Unionville clean-up hitter Cambrie Bouchard, who went down swinging in both plate appearances. But the third time was the charm, as Bouchard connected for a solo shot that broke a 2-2 tie, and the top-seeded Longhorns held on for a 3-2 victory over No. 8 Upper Merion in the quarterfinals of the District 1, Class 5A softball tourney Wednesday afternoon.
Unionville coach Amanda Panati congratulates Cambrie Bouchard following her solo home run (BILL RUDICK for MediaNews Group)
With the win, Unionville (17-4) moves on to Friday’s semi-finals, when they will host No. 4 West Chester East. Game time is slated for 4 P.M.
“This is the farthest this team has gotten in the post season in a very long time,” said Unionville coach Amanda Panati. “We’re down a few players we’ve had over the season, but someone new seems to step up and get it done for us in big time situation. And it’s the whole team, not just one or two players.”
With the game tied at two apiece in the bottom of the fifth, Bouchard stepped up to the plate with one out, and delivered, launching a shot over the right field fence for the go ahead run.
“I’d been kind of struggling my last few at bats,” said Bouchard. “So I was really just trying to relax and make good contact. But I kind of knew it off the bat that it was going out. Couldn’t have come at a better time than to put my team in front and set us up for a win.”
Upper Merion wasted no time getting on the board. After reaching on an error, Vikings’ lead-off hitter swiped second, then came in to score when Ava DiDonato (2-for-4, double, RBI) ripped a single to the gap in right center. But Unionville answered right back. Grace Levendis was hit by a pitch to open the Unionville half of the inning, and scored on an RBI single from Madeline Tomasco (2-for-3, double, run scored, RBI).
Upper Merion’s Rebecca Shuler slides in safely with a run behind Unionville catcher Madelin Tomasco (BILL RUDICK for MediaNews Group)
The trade-off repeated in the fourth, with both teams plating an unearned run in the frame, and both pitchers starting to find a rhythm.
Upper Merion starter DiDonato was dealing in the early going, recording eight of the first nine outs via strikeout, topping the 300 mark for her career in the process.
Upper Merion’s Ava DiDonato winds and delivers (BILL RUDICK for MediaNews Group)
“Ava pitched a great game,” said Vikings coach Jim Godby. “She’s had a great career for us, and we’ll really miss her.”
For the Longhorns, Madison Parisi seemed to get stronger as the game went on. She picked up the win in the circle with seven strong innings, allowing just two runs—one earned—on four hits. Parisi struck out seven, and walked just one.
“I told her she needed to get some giddy-up on her ball,” said Panati. “And she had a lot more giddy-up at the end then she did the first inning. She knows she can bring that, and bring it consistently.”
Unionville’s Madison Parisi delivers (BILL RUDICK for MediaNews Group)
The season comes to a close for Upper Merion, who go out with a record of 13-8.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” said Godby. “We’re a pretty young team, but we won our division of the PAC, and played well against the big teams, which helped prepare us for this part of the season, and got us a district win. Just a shame we couldn’t keep it going for our seniors, Rebecca Shuler, Ava DiDonato and Emma Ricci.”
The win guarantees Unionville will be playing at least two more games, and will at least play for a slot in the state tournament.
Unionville’s Grace Levendis scores behind Upper Merion catcher JoEllen Johnson (BILL RUDICK for MediaNews Group)
“It’s so much fun getting to play at home with this team,” said Parisi. “We had a little bit of a break with the bye, but our energy really just kept picking up as the game went on. I’m so excited to see how far we can go.”
Unionville 3 Upper Merion 2Upper Merion 1 0 0 1 0 0 0—2Unionville 1 0 0 1 1 0 X—3WP—Parisi LP—DiDonatoHR—Bouchard 2B—DiDonato, Tomasco
