Pennsbury earned a berth in the PIAA 6A State Tournament with its win over Methacton, and in District 1 5A’s third place game, Upper Dublin won a classic pitchers’ duel over Upper Moreland in 10 innings. Check out the TNT (Tuff 'n Tuffer) recaps. Pennsbury/Methacton photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography.
District 1 6A playback
#3 PENNSBURY 12, #10 METHACTON 2 (6 innings)
“Make some memories.”
It’s a line coach Frank McSherry has used a lot this season, and this year’s Pennsbury squad has certainly done just that. On Wednesday, the Falcons reached a goal that has eluded the team, earning the program’s first state berth in four years.
They put an exclamation point on the accomplishment with a mercy rule win over the 
visiting Warriors.
“We definitely did not leave any room for doubt with the way we hit against Methacton, and we are so thrilled – we are beyond excited,” senior Jenna Thompson said.
Thompson and her fellow seniors represent the heart and soul of this year’s squad.
“We asked a lot of them these four years, and they gave us everything they had, and they just worked so hard, and now to see it all come to this – it’s just so cool for them,” Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry said.
The veteran coach was especially happy for senior Jaylynn Rodweller, who was sidelined all of last season with a torn ACL.
“She lost an entire year, but she would always come to practice,” McSherry said. “The only time she’d miss anything is when she either had rehab or Reading Olympics. She’s a great kid, she really is.”
A trip to the state tournament might have seemed highly unlikely during a three-week span that included three league losses – two by the mercy rule.
“The hole was a little deeper than what it should have been, losing those three and then falling one short of winning a share of the division,” McSherry said. “To lose three in our division was just too big a hole to climb out of, but they climbed out of it to different heights, if you will. Maybe not the division, but they’re the only (Patriot Division) team standing right now, so you know they have a lot to be proud of. We’re proud of them. Those three losses could have destroyed the team, but it didn’t.”
It didn’t because the team shared a firm resolve to stay the course.
“I think the key for all of us coming together was definitely our ability to communicate with one another,” Thompson said. “We have a really tight-knit group, so communication for us and holding each other accountable is really, really easy.
“Also, we have an amazing coaching staff – if we have concerns, they listen to us, so I think we knew as a collective that we needed to change some things up and have some new things, start new traditions and definitely settle down in a new culture for the program.
“I think that’s what we did, and especially as seniors – for us to come together and set that culture for underclassmen that will be here next year and we won’t is super important.”
Earning a state berth – something none of this year’s team had ever done – was a goal from the outset.
“I have definitely been telling my team and other girls on the team have also been telling each other since January when we start up that this was our goal, and this is what we’re here to do,” Thompson said. “We knew the potential we had and the bond of our group. It’s not that we’re even a team anymore, we’re a family, so this year, we knew from the beginning – this was what we were looking for and we were going to deliver and get here.”
On Wednesday, a Falcon team struggling to right the ship in April became one of six District 1 6A teams still alive.
“Hopefully, in a few years, they’re going to look back and say, ‘You know, all those crazy workouts and all that time spent and all those things that the coaches said that we thought were silly at the time, they really paid off because we made some great memories,’” McSherry said. “I keep saying to them – ‘Make some memories, make some memories.’ They already have, but there’s more to be made. The time will come to look back and say, ‘Holy cow, this is awesome.’”
In fact, that time has already come for the team’s veterans.
“It’s been super special,” Thompson said. “I think it’s special for everyone in the program. For a team to come together the way that we do where we don’t even look at it as underclassmen and upperclassmen.
“Everyone is a leader, everyone definitely holds each other accountable. What we have is definitely super special.”
--The game: The Falcons put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning that included an RBI single by Paige Fidishun. They added a single run in the second when Kaelyn Crocker, who singled, scored on Liv Czerniak’s single that gave the Falcons a 3-0 advantage.
Methacton trimmed that lead to one with single runs in the third and fourth. Pennsbury scored one in the fifth inning when Jenna Thompson, who doubled, scored on Fidishun’s sacrifice fly.
Then came the eight-run sixth inning that brought an early end to the game.
“I was 100 percent confident in my team and our abilities,” Thompson said. “Whether we’re up by one or up by 10, I am always confident in us.
“Our defense is amazing, and we always come through in the lineup, top to bottom.
By the numbers: Pennsbury: Kaelyn Crocker (3-for-3, 2RBIs, 2R), Jenna Thompson (2-for-3, 2 2B, 3RBIs, 3R), Jaylynn Rodweller (2B)
Paige Fidishun (W) (6 IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 1K) (2RBIs)
Key inning: Bottom of sixth – The Falcons, who had a 4-2 lead, scored six runs before an out was recorded and scored eight overall, bringing the game to an early end. The inning was highlighted by the two-run double from Jenna Thompson and included a pair of RBI singles by Kaelyn Crocker as well as singles by Keira Hoffman, Bella Morales (RBI) and Syd Kandravi (RBI). The inning also included three walks and one error. Crocker’s second single gave the Falcons the walk-off mercy rule win.
Pennsbury coach Frank McSherry:
--Crocker emerges: “Kaelyn Crocker didn’t start the whole season – she only had 18 at-bats and was 8-for-18 during the regular season, so she hit .444, but she was a part time player. Other 
than a courtesy runner or pinch runner, we spotted her some time, but she started very few games during the regular season. She started playing more, and she’s really come on at the end of the year.”
--Props: “Methacton put the ball in play, but our kids made some nice plays. Liv Czerniak had a wonderful ESPN play at shortstop. She had a really good play. We played good defense behind Paige.”
Up next: Pennsbury will travel to #1 North Penn for the fifth-place game on Thursday. North Penn defeated Neshaminy 8-2 in a playback game Wednesday.
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Pennsbury 210 018 12-11-1
District 1 5A third place
#5 UPPER DUBLIN 2, #3 UPPER MORELAND 1 (10 innings)
This was a classic pitchers’ duel.
It took 10 innings, the international tiebreaker and an unearned run to determine a winner with Kyla Garrison and the Flying Cardinals earning the hard-fought win.
Garrison allowed just four hits in the marathon contest while walking five and striking out 21 in a brilliant outing.
“The kid is just unbelievable,” UD coach Heather Boyer said. “There were times today where I felt like she was laboring a little bit, and you look at the book afterwards, and she had 21 strikeouts. She pitched another great game, for sure.”
UM’s Delaney Stout turned in a glittering performance of her own, allowing three hits and no earned runs while walking three and striking out 10.
Garrison retired 11 in a row to open the game before issuing a two-out walk and a single to Stout in the fourth. That threat ended with Garrison snagging a line drive for the inning’s final out.
That was the closest thing to a scoring threat either team had until the top of the seventh. UD’s Ava Renye led off the inning with a single, but with one out, an attempted sacrifice bunt resulted in an inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the inning. Clarie Walton, who led off the inning, was safe on an error, and Sofia Magagna drew a walk. Garrison got out of that potential jam with a strikeout, ground out and strikeout.
In the eighth inning, UD’s Kate Brannigan drew a one-out walk and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sarah O’Brien. An error on Amelia Jesuit’s grounder allowed Brannigan to score the game’s first run.
UM answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. Hailey Kramer drew a one-out walk, and with two outs, Stout collected her second hit of the day. Walton followed with a clutch RBI single, and the two teams were deadlocked.
In the top of the 10th, the Cardinals plated a run without collecting a hit, and UM came up empty in the bottom of the inning despite – with Alaina Darsney on second base to open the inning – Brooklyn Kavanagh hit a single to center.
“I was expecting a bunt, and their leadoff hitter comes up, Brooklyn Kavanagh, and rips a single to right field,” Boyer said. “I think they thought about sending Darsney, but Maddie Small threw a perfect strike to home, so she didn’t score. She was held up at third, so now it’s first and third with nobody out, and it’s strikeout, strikeout, strikeout in the heart of their lineup. That was good poise.”
For the Cardinals, Wednesday’s win came on the heels of a 10-0 loss to top-seeded West Chester East in a District 1 5A semifinal contest.
“No doubt, West Chester East can hit the ball hard,” Boyer said. “Kyla got hit for two home runs all season, and she gave up two in that game. They hit, so props to them, but you want to go into states on a better note than that.
“You want to have good momentum, you want to have a little confidence builder, and you want to win, so now we have to keep that momentum going into Monday.”
By the numbers: Upper Dublin: Kyla Garrison (W) (10.0 IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 5BB, 21K)
Upper Moreland: Delaney Stout (10 IP, 3H, 2R, 0ER, 3BB, 10K) (2-for-5)
Key inning: Top of the 10th - With the international tiebreaker in effect, Jolie Sheppard started on second base, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kate Brannigan and scored on a hard infield ground ball by Amelia Jesuit that was misplayed.
Upper Dublin coach Heather Boyer:
--A game for seeding purposes: “You do have a safety net because four teams are going to states from Class 5A, so it’s not your last game, but you want to get good momentum going into states because now you’re traveling out of the district, so it’s hard to know what’s coming at you. It just gives you a good momentum swing.
“It allows you to build confidence to know that – hey, we can execute in tight situations, and it was a game today where sometimes doing the littles things, what you think isn’t significant as the game-winning RBI single or a home run or something like that – today we did the little things.
“We had good sacrifice bunts in two really important spots to move runners into scoring position, and then we knocked them in. It might not be the cleanest, prettiest hit, but it gets the job done, and that’s really important when you get this deep in the playoffs. You need to execute, and the teams that execute consistently and make the fewest mistakes are usually the teams that are going to survive and advance, so we were fortunate because we had a miscue in the field ourselves, and we had a couple of miscues at the plate. We just had fewer, and we took advantage of opportunities when we had them.”
Upper Moreland coach Melanie Martino:
“Today was a real pitchers’ duel. Both Kyla and Delaney pitched 10 great innings and put on a real show.
“After last year in playoffs, we knew going into this game it was going to come down to another close game. We are a young team, and to see them battle the way they did in a game like today makes this old softball lady incredibly proud. They kept battling and didn't give up. I can't ask any more than that. We will get back to work and get ready for the first round of states on Monday.”
Up next: Upper Dublin will face the District 11 champion – the winner of #1 Southern Lehigh/#3 Pocono Mountain East - in Monday’s opening round of the PIAA 5A Tournament. Upper Moreland will face District 2 champion Abington Heights.
Upper Dublin 000 000 010 1 2-3-1
Upper Moreland 000 000 010 0 1-4-3
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