Lady Hatters To Open Conference Season After Softball Win

Preparing for the 2014 prep softball season hasn't been easy for Hatboro-Horsham High School.

Like all other programs in the area, cold weather, snow and rain have slowed the Lady Hatters in their progress, with indoor workouts taking the place of field work in the great outdoors.

That has left HHHS with one scrimmage on one game under its belt as the difficult journey through the Suburban One League/Continental Conference begins Tuesday afternoon at Central Bucks East.

Having already lost one scrimmage against Gwynedd Mercy Academy to bad weather, Hatboro-Horsham was scheduled for three non-conference games last week. 

The Lady Hatters only managed to get one game in, a 5-4 victory over a highly-thought-of Lansdale Catholic squad last Monday at home. Games at home against Conestoga and Crestwood were cancelled after last week's snow and rain storms.

Sophomore left fielder Jamie Mroz ripped a sacrifice fly to center to score center fielder Jen Cader with the winning run for a walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh.

Sophomore Kaeli Simmons earned her first varsity win in relief of Lexie Campbell and Brynn Griffith, pitching out of jams in the sixth and seventh to strand five batters.

On another day where the lack of practice time outdoors led to shaky fielding at times and a lack of execution in the short game, Hatboro-Horsham relied heavily on the bat of right fielder Deanna Moyer to put itself in position to win.

Moyer came through with a clutch, two-out single to drive in Jackie Locke and Kylie Flagler, who had both walked, in the second for a 2-0 lead and then delivered a one-out double in the sixth after back-to-back errors at short allowed Flagler and Mroz get on base and a Simmons sacrifice moved them into scoring position.

Moyer finished 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs and was robbed of another two-out hit and RBI in the fourth on an outstanding catch by slick-fielding Kristin Szczepaniak on a shot to left.

HHHS junior Jaynie Black turned in a brilliant performance defensively and added to it with a perfect day at the plate, walking one, ripping a single to center and sacrificing Cader to second in the seventh after Cader had worked for a walk on a 3-2 pitch.

Locke singled Cader to third on a sharp drive to center, stole second and then joined in the celebration after Mroz's first varsity RBI turned out to be the game-winner.

Third baseman Daria Edwards was 2-for-3, with a triple on a one-hop shot that ate up the second baseman and quickly bounced to the fence in the third and a single in the fifth.

But despite six hits and seven walks, the Lady Hatters couldn't come up with enough big hits to stay in front until the end, stranding nine runners on base against left-handed hurler Danielle Eckroth.

Campbell was brilliant the circle for HHHS until a pair of errors in the fourth opened the door for a pair of unearned runs. Center fielder Greta Sheridon used a short swing to swat a well-placed double into the left-center gap to tie the game.

Campbell didn't allow a hit until then and retired Ashley Seal with Sheridon in scoring position to keep the game tied.

Lansdale Catholic took the lead in the sixth, 4-2, when a single, an infield hit, a pair of walks and a wild pitch off Griffith plated two runs, setting the stage for Hatboro-Horsham's rally in the late innings.

The conference opener will be an interesting one for the Lady Hatters on Tuesday, coming against a Central Bucks squad that they had dominated in recent years until the Patriots knocked them out of the district and state playoffs with a stunning, 10-inning, 3-2 victory last season to end Hatboro-Horsham year.

Central Bucks went on to win the District One championship over Neshaminy and advanced to the quarterfinals of the state 4-A tournament before losing to Continental Conference rival North Penn.