PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | May, 2021

PLYMOUTH MEETING >> Ryan Wootten got things started for Garnet Valley and he surely finished them, Drew Van Horn made the “biggest play of the year,” and the 18th-seeded Jaguars scored a major upset in the second round of the District 1-6A Playoffs, stunning No. 2 Plymouth-Whitemarsh, 5-3.
“This was huge for us. We started out pretty slow during the season and we bonded as a team and are really playing well,” said Wootten.
The win sends Garnet Valley to Friday’s quarterfinals, at Hatboro-Horsham at 4 p.m.
PW saw a fine season come to a close at 14-3.
The game was a continuation from Wednesday, when lightning and rain left things suspended in the top of the fifth inning, with GV leading 4-3.
The Jaguars (9-8) immediately added to their lead in the fifth.
With two men on, Logan Nelson’s RBI single provided Garnet Valley some breathing room, up 5-3.
“We weren’t expecting the game to be rained out, but we were ready,” Wootten said. “We had the same mindset coming in today. We were just ready to play some baseball.”
Wootten pitched three scoreless frames on Thursday against the high-powered Colonials.
Luke Gartland’s one-out bunt single gave PW a man on in the bottom of the fifth, but Wootten got Dom DiCiurcio to fly out and struck out Jack Hildebrand to end the threat.
Wootten then struck out the side in the sixth and the Jaguars were closing in.
Plymouth-Whitemarsh seemed to get the bats going in the seventh. Luke Caucci belted a single to left and Mike Miller walked to put runners at first and second with no outs.
But things were about to change, suddenly and drastically.
Luke Gartland ripped a line drive toward short, and what looked to be a run scorer for the Colonials was snagged out of the air by Van Horn, who went up high to make the grab and threw to second for the double play.
One more out on a fielder’s choice sent the Jaguars to the next round.

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Garnet Valley huddles after its win over

Plymouth-Whitemarsh on Thursday,

May 27, 2021. Kev Hunter, MediaNews.

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TOWAMENCIN >> After a walk and a strikeout her first two times at the plate, Brooke McKeown had an hunch what to expect from North Penn’s Mady Volpe in the top of the fourth inning.

“I kind of just knew the outside pitch was going to come,” the Haverford senior center fielder said. “So I was ready for it and just landed.”

With two runners on and two outs, McKeown slashed a pitch the opposite way into left field. And when it got past the diving attempt by the Knights left fielder, it was a full-on sprint around the bases for the East Stroudsburg commit.

It did not end until McKeown followed her slide into home with an emphatic fist pump – her three-run inside-the-park home run giving the Fords a 4-0 lead in the District 1-6A quarterfinal Thursday afternoon.

“I thought that she (the Fords’ third-base coach) was going to stop me,” McKeown said. “But then she sent me home.”

Kerri McCallum led off the top of the fifth with a more convention homer and that was more than enough for Emma Taylor. The junior left-hander dealt No. 2 North Penn its first shutout loss as No. 7 Haverford finally got over the Knights and clinched a PIAA berth with a 5-0 victory.

“When knew we could and we were kind like we’re tired of losing to this team and let’s make it to states,” Taylor said. “Let’s keep going through districts, like we got this.”

The Fords (19-3) lost 4-1 to NP on the same field April 24 and fell twice to the Knights in 2019, including an 11-0 five-inning defeat in the district quarterfinals. Thursday, Haverford took advantage of North Penn defensive miscues – its first four runs were unearned – while Taylor, a Yale verbal commit, allowed seven hits but stranded 10 base runners and struck out nine.

“I threw against them in that (April 24) game, too, so we kind of knew what each of their hitters was like,” Taylor said. “But we knew that – I don’t want to take anything away from them – but we could take them on, we could take that team as a whole.”

McKeown 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored while McCallum went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored for Haverford, which earned its second state appearance – its first coming in 2019 – and a semifinal matchup Tuesday at No. 6 Neshaminy, who upset No. 3 Hatboro-Horsham 3-1.

“We got to represent Delco but it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we’ve good a good lineup up and down, we know we can beat anyone,” Taylor said.

For North Penn (20-2), it was a just a poor time to have a bad game, as five errors and an inability to drive in runners denied the Knights a third straight district semifinal appearance.

“We didn’t play defense well,” North Penn coach Rick Torresani said. “Mady pitched her guts out but we didn’t get the timely hitting and like I’ve said from day one, in playoff softball, you have to have timely hitting, play good defense and get good pitching. And told the girls we didn’t get two of the three.”

Julia Shearer was 3-for-4 with while Carley DiGiuseppe went 2-for-3 for the Knights, who had their 14-game win streak snapped.

The Knights began Thursday resuming their suspended second-round game with Owen J. Roberts in the bottom of the fourth already up 4-0 then scored six in the fifth for a 10-0 victory. But a few hours later, Knights were shut out for the first time since a 2-0 11-inning loss to Central Dauphin in the 2019 PIAA quarterfinals.

North Penn’s path to state this year now lies in playbacks with a win Tuesday needed to continue its season.

“We played well, we hit the ball well in the morning and then we come down and we don’t do it,” Torresani said. “Is it because we played an inning early and then we had to come back – I don’t know. I don’t think so. These girls are used to that. We just our bad game in a wrong time and that’s the way it goes.”

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Haveford’s Brooke McKeown with a fist pump after her three-run inside-the-park

home run in the fourth inning of the Fords’ 5-0 win over North Penn in the District

1-6A quarterfinals on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (Mike Cabrey/MediaNews Group)

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CONCORD — The championship plan, as it has developed for Springfield boys lacrosse this postseason, has a few elements.

Stellar defense, that hallmark of the program, is an obvious one. A marauding Jack Clark, that’s become more of a given by the game. But Thursday, the under-the-radar third aspect of that Cougar trident showed up just as prominently.

All season, coach Tom Lemieux has liberally rotated his midfielders, looking for the right combinations. Lately, it seems like he can hardly find any wrong ones.

Those contributions were at the heart of Thursday’s District 1 Class 3A final win over Garnet Valley, 12-7. As much as Clark held down the shop with his usual output of four goals and an assist, the way others stepped to the fore made the difference, from three goals from Robbie O’Brien to two fourth-quarter tallies from Matt Dickinson.

O’Brien’s goals ran the gamut. He ripped home a 20-yarder in the second quarter off a Brett Gougler helper to put the Cougars (17-5) up 5-2 at the break. The next two were of the grimier variety, a wayward pass that he tipped home like a hockey goal and another in the fourth that caromed through traffic and just dribbled over the line.

“We take whatever we get,” O’Brien said. “They all went in. … It all goes up on the board.”

It was enough. Timely, too. The second-seeded Jaguars (17-5) scored first in each quarter but could never sustain momentum. Certainly nothing like the run of four goals that Springfield rattled off in 1:34 in the first quarter, a cushion which they never were in serious trouble of relinquishing. The Jaguars also didn’t come close to replicating the explosive offense on display in a 13-8 win over the Cougars in April.

Clark was at the heart of that first-quarter run with three goals around a Gougler tally. But others stepped up as the game went on. Aidan Kreydt bombed one home in the third, then Jimmy Kennedy fired home man-up for a 9-3 edge. Dickinson added his two in the fourth, the last a backhander after splitting a double team while falling away from the goal with 2:23 to play to seal it.

Garnet Valley had threatened to make things interesting. But each time the Jags tried to get momentum, they were stymied. That owed in part to Springfield’s Colin Hannigan starving them of possession with a 16-for-22 game at the X and the constant hounding by a defense led by long-stick midfielder Ryan O’Connor.

“We wanted to not give them any room on the offensive side of the ball, keep to hands and just keep them to the outside,” O’Connor said. “It helped out in the end.”

The Jaguars went on a brief run in the fourth. Max Busenkell, who led the way with three goals and an assist, tallied 90 seconds apart around a Dickinson goal. He then found Ryan Nelaon after drawing a triple team, then Joey Halloran scored man-up to trim the deficit to 10-7.

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Springfield’s Jack Clark found the back of the net four

times Thursday night, helping to lead Springfield to a 12-7

victory over Garnet Valley in the District 1 Class 3A

championship game. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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DOWNINGTOWN >> Depending on your rooting interest, the first quarter of Thursday’s District 1 2A Boys’ Lacrosse Final was truly glorious, or shockingly dreadful.

It was clearly the former for Penncrest, who poured in six straight early goals in the opening 7 minutes 18 seconds and cruised the rest of the way to a 9-4 triumph over host Bishop Shanahan. Seeded fifth in heading in, it was the Lions’ first-ever district title in boys’ lacrosse.

“No team at Penncrest has done this before – it’s just amazing,” said junior attacker Jason Poole. “We talked about it before the game and we knew that this was the team that could do it.”

Just two days after edging top-seeded West Chester Rustin, the Lions (13-7 overall) blitzed the second-seeded Eagles, and will head into the upcoming PIAA Playoffs as one of the teams to beat.

“Anytime you have an opportunity to win a championship you put out as much as you possibly can,” said Penncrest head coach Wayne Matsinger. “Our players knew what was at stake and they also knew that this was an opportunity to do something that had never been done.”

There was more than 40 minutes of lacrosse still to play after the Lions surged ahead 6-0, but make no mistake: the outcome was essentially determined. Especially with the way senior goaltender Andrew Wickman was playing, and the defenders in front of him.

“The start was the best we’ve had all season. It was like a dream,” junior midfielder Brennan Kaut.

“We just ran into a buzz saw today,” added Shanahan head coach Jon Heisman.

“The start absolutely killed us. (Penncrest) is big, fast, physical and very skilled, and they took it to us. They deserved the district title.”

For a little context, the Eagles (15-5 overall) entered the contest having won 13 in a row, and the Shanahan defense had allowed just nine goals total in the previous 24 quarters of action.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better start. We just came out firing and when we are all connected, there is not much that can stop us,” Poole said.

“We called a timeout and tried to regroup,” Heisman added. “(Penncrest) got off to a fast start, got some good looks and we didn’t make any saves. So we made the goalie change, and after that (backup) Carson Binder stepped up a bit.”

As if blasted out of a cannon, the Lions seized command from the very start, scoring on their first three shots and then added three more before you could blink. And Kaut had a decent career in the opening quarter with three goals and two assists, which means he had a major hand in five of the first six goals.

“We knew (Shanahan) was going to come out in a zone (defense) against us, so we worked hard on making smart, pin-point passes and they know the gaps and seams in a zone,” Matsinger said. “When that happens, we have some lethal shooters. Brennan had the window to see those gaps and he’s so athletic, he was able to get off shots.”

Ironically, Shanahan’s Liam Blakely won all seven face offs in the first period, but the Lions transition defense was tremendous as it limited the Eagles to a single shot on goal in the first 12 minutes.

“We knew we were going to have a tough time in the faceoff circle, so to be up 6-0 and not win a single faceoff is unbelievable,” Matsinger acknowledged. “It goes to show that my goaltender, my defense and our shooters were phenomenal.”

Shanahan finally settled down in the second quarter, and scored four of the next five goals, but the damage was done. All-American Collin Gucwa notched the first two, and when senior Owen Mehok scored in the final minute of the third quarter, the Eagles a flicker of life trailing 7-4.

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PHOENIXVILLE >> Justin Brennan had about two hours to think about what pitches he was going to throw.

With the bases loaded, two outs and Brennan about to relieve Marple Newtown starter Owen Mathes, the fifth-seeded Tigers’ District 1-5A quarterfinal with fourth-seeded Phoenixville was delayed due to lightning.

When play resumed after the delay, Brennan needed three pitches to retire Phantoms’ pinch-hitter Drew Kingsbury and preserve a 3-2 lead.

Not long after, one batter into the top of the seventh, the game was called due to darkness, clinching a Marple Newtown win and spot in the semifinals.

“We talk about having some grit, you gotta have a little grit to you, all year,” Marple Newtown coach Ryan Zimmerman said. “You gotta have a little swagger, and that’s what he’s got. We’ve relied on (Brennan) all year to close some games for us, and that’s why we went to him.”

Though aware of the rule that the games were deemed official after five innings, the Phantoms were holding out hope they’d have one last chance to bat on Thursday when they departed the field.

“It was just an unfortunate situation,” Phoenixville coach Geoff Thomas said. “I read the rules for the district, for the PIAA, so I was aware but I was hoping that we were going to be able to come back and get the final frame in, get a base hit with Kingsbury in. It was just unfortunate.”

Mathes picked up the win for the Tigers (13-5), who will play Strath Haven in Friday’s Class 5A semis. He tossed 5.2 no-hit innings, allowing two unearned runs on four walks and three errors while striking out six.

He allowed just one base runner via error in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings, shutting down the Phantoms in order in three of those frames.

“(Mathes) struggled a little bit in our final outing, but other than that, he’s been pretty lights out all year,” Zimmerman said.

The Phantoms (12-5) went up 1-0 on an RBI by Justin Geiger in the bottom of the first, but Marple responded with three runs in bottom of the second off Phoenixville starter Jason Bilotti.

Jimmy O’Brien drove in a run after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Marple nine-hitter Brian Joslin came up next and drove in a pair of runs with a single.

“A senior comes through in the clutch,” Zimmmerman said. “It was a big play.”

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Marple Newtown second baseman Justin Brennan attempts to turn a double play as Phoenixville’s

JJ Allen slides into second during Wednesday’s District 1-5A playoff game. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

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NETHER PROVIDENCE — Koll Peichel said he didn’t have his best stuff Wednesday, but the Strath Haven ace was being a little too harsh on himself.

The senior righthander was effective in the Panthers’ 7-2 victory over Radnor in a District 1 Class 5A quarterfinal. He struck out eight and allowed two runs on six hits with three walks. Unfortunately, he was one out shy of a complete game after he reached his limit of 105 pitches.

“I didn’t pitch super well, I wasn’t super efficient,” Peichel said. “The ump was squeezing me a little bit, but I was hitting inner white, which is usually a strike with most umpires. But it’s … whatever. No excuses or anything. We stuck with it and, like I said, I didn’t have my best. But we kept at it and were able to come out with the win.”

Strath Haven will host another Central League rival in fifth-seeded Marple Newtown in the semifinal round Friday. The Tigers defeated No. 4 Phoenixville, 3-2, in a rain-shortened game Wednesday.

Peichel also delivered at the plate, hammering a two-run homer in the first inning off Radnor hurler Jimmy Sweet. The bomb to right gave the top-seeded Panthers a boost offensively. It was the first time in Peichel’s high school career he hit an over-the-fence home run.

“I didn’t expect it to be a fastball, but I saw it was going to be a strike, so I thought I might as well swing,” he said. “I hit it good. I don’t want to say I was lucky or anything. I mean, I’ve never hit one out that far, not even in BP. I started walking down to first and thought there was no way it had that much tail (to go foul).”

On the mound, Peichel overcame a brief scare in the top of the first inning. Radnor leadoff hit Austin Marx jumped on the first pitch of the game, a hard-hit single to left field. The ball got away from Alex Hemingway in left, enabling Marx to scoot up to second base. Peichel settled in and got out of the inning unscored upon.

“He battled. I thought the strike zone was pretty tight, but he battled out there,” Haven coach Brian Fili said. “I thought he was putting a lot of pitches on the outside corner, but they weren’t giving them to him. It frustrated him a little but, but he’s got good enough stuff to get through.”

Peichel retired the side in order only once, but received plenty of help from his friends in the field.

In the fourth inning, Radnor’s Danny Rosenblum ripped an opposite field hit to right field, driving home the team’s first run. Rosenblum stepped on second base and kept running, but an excellent relay nabbed him at third. Sam Milligan fired from right field to second baseman Simon Bolinger, who threw a strike to third baseman Mike Valente.

“That felt good. It was a huge play,” Bolinger said. “I looked back a little bit right before I got the ball and I noticed that he was kind of lagging behind there, the runner was just passing second, so yeah … I just took the ball out of my glove and I threw it. I was watching the ball and it went in Mikey’s glove. It definitely felt really nice.”

Following a one-out walk in the sixth, Haven turned a 6-4-3 double play. Shortstop Christian Thack dove to his left to knock the ball down, then flipped the ball to Bolinger, who fired to first baseman Luke Jacobson.

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KENNETT SQUARE >> Garnet Valley ended the boys’ lacrosse regular season a dozen days ago against a non-league foe that wasn’t much more than a postseason tune up.

The Jaguars didn’t take much away from that lopsided loss to Kennett except for one big thing: motivation. And on Tuesday Garnet Valley used it as impetus to stage just about the most consequential road win imaginable: a 12-10 triumph over the top-seeded and previously unbeaten Blue Demons in the District 1 3A Semifinals.

“After losing to them earlier, we really wanted this game,” said Jags’ junior attacker Joey Halloran.

“Kennett’s confidence was really high, as it should be – they were 19-0,” added senior star Max Busenkell. “But we’ve been thinking about that first game with them for the last week and a half. We knew we didn’t play up to our potential.”

Seeded fourth, Garnet Valley (17-4 overall) advances to the district final on Thursday and will host a familiar foe: No. 6 Springfield (Delco), who edged Central League Champion Radnor, 11-10, the other semifinal.

“We played for the district my freshman year and we lost,” Busenkell recalled. “I still remember that feeling, so it is great to get a second chance.”

Now 19-1, Kennett will host second-seeded Radnor on Thursday in the third-place game of the consolation bracket. The Demons have already earned a berth in the PIAA Playoffs for the first time ever.

“It’s upsetting to lose, especially our first loss in the district semifinals,” Kennett head coach Bob Allvord said. “The kids are somewhat down, so I told them to hold their heads up. We have a lot more lacrosse to play.

“This is a tough one to swallow. They need to absorb the loss and be ready to come out, work hard and play again on Thursday.”

Following a very close first half that featured six ties, including a 7-7 deadlock at the half, the Jaguars scored the first three goals of the second half to take the lead for good. But Kennett staged one final push down the stretch to make it interesting.

Goals by Zach Hulme and Broc Fantazzi pulled the Demons to within a goal, 11-10, with 2:26 to go. And after a humbling evening, Kennett’s face off specialist, Richie Hughson, won the ensuing faceoff. But in the final minute, Jags’ defender Sean Gallagher came up with a big takeaway about 11 minutes after he had to leave the field with a minor leg injury.

“We will learn from this,” Allvord said. “Especially on that last possession where maybe we held the ball too much instead of moving it like we normally do.”

Busenkell then wrapped it up with his fourth goal of the evening with 12.5 remaining to close it out.

“We thought we out-played (Kennett) in the first half but we made mistakes and they capitalized,” said Garnet Valley head coach Frank Urso. “We didn’t think it should be 7-7 so we came out and tried to get rid of the mistakes.

“Kennett is loaded with weapons, but our defense played great. They really stepped up in a big way.”

The unsung heroes were the faceoff combo of Sam Morin and Sam Di Trolio, who wound up winning 16-of-25 against Hughson. It helped the Jaguars win the possession battle and they went on to have a 25-18 shots on goal advantage.

“Morin and Di Trolio were huge – that was a game-changer for us,” Halloran said.

“We tried to throw them off by switching guys so that (Hughson) couldn’t get into a rhythm,” Urso added. “It worked well.”

Garnet Valley senior midfielder Bishop Barnes scored twice in a 37-second span early in the third quarter, and then Busenkell made it 10-7 against an opponent who had never before trailed in the second half all season.

Senior standout Sam Forte finally halted what had been an 8-3 rally with a goal just before the start of the fourth quarter for the Demons, but the Jags’ Luke Mingioni converted a rebound early in the final period to set up the finish.

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NETHER PROVIDENCE — McKenzie Raech sure is happy that she and her family made the decision to return to Strath Haven after her sophomore year.

Raech was a standout in field hockey and lacrosse as a freshman at Strath Haven during the 2017-18 school year. But she spent her sophomore year at Cardinal O’Hara with her older sister, Emily, who was a junior at the time.

Back at Strath Haven, McKenzie Raech is a defensive star for the No. 2 Panthers, who advanced to the District 1 Class 2A final with a 17-10 victory over third-seeded Mount St. Joseph Tuesday evening. Raech scooped up three ground balls and caused a turnover, but she did plenty of other things that don’t necessarily show up in the scorebook.

Raech now has the opportunity to capture a District 1 title alongside friends she grew up with in the Wallingford School District. The Panthers, who’ve already clinched a berth in the PIAA tournament, will take on No. 1 Bishop Shanahan in Thursday’s final.

“I knew it was right to come back and I’m really glad I did because this season has honestly been the best,” she said.

Panthers coach Pigeon Graham is glad Raech decided to come home.

“Kenz wasn’t here sophomore year and came back to us last year, when of course we didn’t have a season. So, she’s just the missing link that we needed down on defense,” Graham said. “She’s got the hustle, she’s got the confidence with her stick skills, bringing the ball out of our defensive end. And talk about never-say-die attitude, she fights for everything and she’s very tough. She’s cleaned up her defense, too. She used to be a very physical player and would get fouls a lot, but now she’s kind of still physical but she’s found a way to play straight-up and it’s really turned it around for her.”

Raech, Olivia Fox and Annie Atsaves led a spectacular defensive effort by the Panthers, who received solid goalkeeping from Erin Spaulding (five saves). The Mount’s Devon McGarvey was a handful, but Haven’s defense kept her quiet for most of the night, especially after McGarvey netted back-to-back goals to give the Magic a brief 2-1 lead.

“In the beginning we knew we had to watch out for her but then once we saw that she was kind of their top player, we had to make adjustments and I think we did well with that,” Raech said.

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Strath Haven defender McKenzie Raech was a force in Tuesday’s 17-10

win over Mount St. Joseph in a District 1 Class 2A semifinal.

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RADNOR — Whatever Jenny Purvis had planned to say to her Garnet Valley girls lacrosse team at halftime, Maddie Kalish ruined.

As the GV coach mulled over the intermission talking points in the final minute of Tuesday’s District 1 Class 3A semifinal, the Jaguars faced a three-goal deficit. Thanks to Kalish, when the final horn sounded, the spread was trimmed to one.

The final huddle convo proved successful, since the next time the Jaguars convened was when a spent Kait Henning careened into Purvis’ arms on the sidelines at the final whistle, the third-seeded Jaguars pulling off a 7-6 victory.

The momentum shifted in the final 20 ticks of the first half, when Kalish scored from eight meters, won the ensuing draw and started a tic-tac-toe goal through Sydney Pyon to Kate Stankavage with a solitary second left.

Instead of a 5-2 mountain, Garnet Valley (19-2) entered the break down just 5-4.

“That kind of shows how much we work together and how much we hype each other up every single time anybody does something, no matter how big or how small, we all have each other’s backs,” Kalish said.

That spurt sparked a five-goal run, all authored by Kalish and Stankavage. The teams traded lengthy possessions early in the second half before Kalish tied the game from eight meters at 20:24, completing her hat trick. Stankavage put GV up for good with the most beautiful goal of the day, Kalish finding the cutting mid on the crease to catch and fire home in one devastatingly fluid motion at 19:22. Then Stankavage, who had a team-high three draw controls, added the seventh at 17:22.

In a game this tight, a 5-0 run felt closer to 10. The architect was Kalish, who lingered after each timeout in conversation with Purvis to fine tune the team’s attacking strategy. The changes proved decisive.

“I think it was just working together, use the clock, that was a big one for us,” Kalish said. “Sometimes we find ourselves wanting to just go to goal right away but we know we have to be patient, work the ball around and work together. It’s seven people out there, not just one.”

Also crucial was another halftime change: Sierra McLaughlin struggled in the first half, allowing five goals on six shots, a rarity for the veteran goalie who last week celebrated her 200th career save. So Purvis turned to Mak Butler.

Butler was only required to make two saves. But both were massive. She stepped out of her crease to confront a cutting Sheila Esgro and deny her shot high early in the half. Then with GV up 6-5, she stood tall to body away an Esgro effort. Seconds later, Stankavage made it 7-5.

“I just was thinking of more of, if she (Purvis) didn’t trust me, she wouldn’t put me in,” Butler said. “But I knew that the rest of the team had my back and if I was going in, there was a reason and they would be there to help me along the way.”

“Both of our goalies are amazing,” Kalish said. “We want to work as hard as we can for them and make their job as easy as possible. So no matter who it is, if it’s Mak or Sierra, we’re still going to work as hard as we can and try to help them. We always have their back, and they always have ours.”

Garnet Valley’s long run kept No. 2 Radnor (17-2) from re-establishing its rhythm. It led 3-1 when Cierra Hopson found Esgro cutting in the area, a reversal for the first goal. Then when Kalish narrowed the margin back to one, Karis Mameniskis deposited two goals from eight meters 54 seconds apart to make it 5-2.

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Garnet Valley’s Maddie Kalish (3) scored three times and rallied the Jaguars to a 7-6 win over Radnor

in the District 1 Class 3A girls lacrosse semifinals. (Pete Bannan/Medianews Group)

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RIDLEY TWP. — Walker Burdette found himself in the same place four innings apart Monday afternoon.

In the third inning of Conestoga’s District 1 Class 6A playoff opener at Ridley, the shortstop flew out with the bases loaded and two out, squandering an early chance to bust the game open.

When the seventh rolled around, the score and even the hit count remained the same as it had been in the top of the third, though the pressure ratcheted up. And the senior rose to meet the moment.

Burdette split the left-center gap with a bases-clearing triple, the decisive hit in a game with just five safeties total, as No. 17 Conestoga topped No. 16 Ridley, 4-1.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Burdette said. “Bases loaded, we needed a run in a big spot, and I wanted to put the ball in play. I got a strike, a fastball right over the dish, and I sent it to left center and I just kept running.”

While the two jams were identical from Burdette’s perspective, they were diametrically opposed for the Ridley hurlers. In the third, Ridley starter Mike Happersett allowed back-to-back singles by eight- and nine-men JT Zellefrow and Brad Markind, the latter an RBI knock after Zellefrow advanced on a wild pitch. A walk and a hit-by-pitch packed the sacks.

But the sophomore Happersett proceeded to strike out Conestoga’s three- and four-hitters before Burdette skied meekly to second.

Happersett flicked on cruise control after that and coasted into the seventh. It started innocently for the left-hander with a strikeout and a groundout, in trying to beat the pitch-count clock of 105. But he hit Drew Lamonica for the third time, then walked Shane McCullen, exiting with 110 pitches and the third out still in the wind.

That brought Gavin Severa to the mound. He walked pinch-hitter Alex Yucha, then with nowhere to put Burdette, fell into a hitter’s count that Burdette summarily punished.

It marked an undeserved end for Happersett, who was outstanding. He was tagged with the loss and three earned runs allowed, but he relented just the two third-inning singles, two walks and struck out nine.

“He’s a great pitcher,” Ridley third baseman Andrew Rowles said. “Still got two more years here. He’s going to be the top pitcher in the league for the next two years to come. Every time he goes out there, I feel like we have a really good chance to win.”

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Conestoga shortstop Walker Burdette rips a three-run triple in the top of the seventh inning that gave the Pioneers a 4-1 victory over Ridley

Monday in the first round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs. (Pete Bannan/Medianews Group).

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