Emma Taylor rewrites Haverford record book

MEDIA — Haverford High senior Emma Taylor didn’t know how close she was to reaching three significant milestones Monday.

First, she broke the school’s all-time strikeout record of 387. Taylor fanned the first hitter she faced.

Next on the to-do list was getting 400 strikeouts, a remarkable achievement when you consider that Taylor was denied her sophomore season in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Thirdly, Taylor began the day one win shy of 42, also a school record. The undefeated Fords roasted Penncrest, 16-2, and Taylor notched a strikeout for the final out of the game for career punchout No. 400 and locked down the wins record.

The strikeout and wins records were previously held by All-Delco Bridget Newman, who presented Taylor with a ball to commemorate the special occasion.

Taylor was curious as to why assistant coach Jill Marshall had been looking for a clean ball on which to write “All Time Win Record.”

“I didn’t know. I looked over to Ms. Marshall and I saw she was dumping the balls out of the bucket, wondering what she was doing looking through them and I had no idea what was happening,” Taylor said.

While she will cherish the moment, Taylor is grateful to share another win with her teammates. And the Fords have done plenty of winning this season. Last year’s PIAA Class 6A runners-up, the Fords are off to a scorching 11-0 start.

The stats and achievements are nice, but the Yale-bound Taylor has one priority: winning.

“When I’m pitching I feel like it’s more of a feeling and then obviously just the team atmosphere as a whole is really important,” said Taylor, who is the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year.

Haverford coach Bob Newman joked with Taylor before the season that he didn’t want her to break his daughter Bridget’s records.

“I told her ‘Hey, you’re 10 wins away. When you get to nine, you’re going into centerfield,’” Newman said. “There’s no one better who could’ve broken it. She’s an unbelievable person. She was voted captain as a sophomore, so she’s a three-year captain. And to do this without having a season (in 2020). Starting in November, she’s running our workouts, I didn’t even have to go because she had it all under control. … She’s just an unbelievable kid and leader.”

Taylor mashed a home run in the first inning to give the Fords a 4-0 advantage. From the circle she allowed three hits and one earned run. Riley Signor had the only decent contact when she slugged a solo homer that split the gap in right-center field.

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Haverford High pitcher Emma Taylor recorded her 400th career strikeout and 42nd win in a 16-2 victory over Penncrest on Monday. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)