Sophomores Sadie Borrelli and Sydney Matincheck, who combined for a no-hitter two weeks ago at Bishop McDevitt, came through again for Lower Dauphin softball in a 14-4 Mid-Penn Keystone Division home win April 14 over Gettysburg.
Borrelli impressed by striking out the first seven batters she faced on her way to a career-high 13 in five-plus innings.
They also combined for five runs batted in, including two by Matincheck in the sixth to make it 13-4. Freshman Casey O’Brien then plated Matincheck to end the game.
“Sadie was really sharp to open the game,” LD coach Hannah Swartz said. “She struck out the side the first three innings.”
Borrelli gave up two home runs – the second of which was a two-run shot by Morgan Robert that narrowed LD’s lead to 10-4 in the sixth.
Matincheck came in to mop up, then keyed the winning rally with a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth.
The victory kept the Falcons, who had 12 hits against Gettysburg, atop the Keystone standings with games Wednesday, April 16, at Red Land and the next night at nonleague Elizabethtown under the lights at 7 p.m.
Sydney Matincheck (below) helped lead Lower Dauphin to a 14-4 Mid-Penn Keystone win over Gettysburg on April 14. Photos: Lloyd Reigel.
LD climbed to No. 3 in the District 3 5A power rankings.
“We got contributions from everybody,” Swartz said. “Everybody hit, everybody did what they had to do. We got a chance to look at a lot of players, which is always good.”
Freshman shortstop Jordan Frye was credited with one hit to continue her hitting streak. She has at least one hit in every game she has played.
Two-hit games were turned in by Lyllee Schmidt, O’Brien and Lila Markowitz.
“We’ve been playing really well,” senior captain Sammie Gallick said. “Sadie started the game strong. Hopefully, it’ll give us momentum going into our game at Red Land.”
With its win last week at Carlisle, LD’s bid to win the Keystone is in good shape. Rain-outs have kept teams from playing full schedules.
“We played only an inning against CD East and Palmyra before we got rained out,” Gallick said. “We’ll play varsity double-headers against them next time we meet, at home against East and at Palmyra.”
With Borrelli, Matincheck and Carissa Wenner, LD has the deepest pitching staff in the division.
Hershey
The Trojans got a reality check April 9 at home with an 8-5 Keystone loss to Red Land.
“We came out timid and didn’t find our intensity until it was too late,” coach John Zitko said. “This game was a wake-up call for us.”
Hershey responded April 14 at home with a 12-2 Keystone win in six innings over Bishop McDevitt in its annual Pink Out game.
By the second inning, lead-off hitter Talie Kaag, who went 4-for-5, batted three times as Hershey opened a 9-1 lead.
“This was a good bounce-back game for us,” Zitko said. “It was nice to get back on track.”
In addition to Kaag, junior center fielder Dani Blaze drove in three runs, and sophomore catcher Sarah Young was 3-for-4 with three doubles.
Hershey’s Sarah Young slides in safely to second on a steal attempt against Red Land on April 9. Photo: Geno Simonetti.
“Sarah’s been fine-tuning her swing, and it’s paying off,” Zitko said. “She’s close to leading the team in extra base hits and has shifted in the lineup accordingly.”
Palmyra
Despite out-hitting their opponents seven to two, the Cougars dropped a 6-3 Keystone contest April 10 at Gettysburg.
Walks and errors complemented the G-burg offense. Freshman pitcher Emalyn Funck issued 12 free passes, and the Palmyra defense kicked in five errors.
Julia Fosnocht had two hits for Palmyra.
“The weather was bad, and Emalyn had a hard time gripping the ball,” coach Nate Kinney said.
It went from bad to worse April 14 at Keystone foe Red Land. The Cougars lost 15-0 in three innings without getting a hit.
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