Spring-Ford Softball Preview

"Tradition" is a word that’s thrown around all too frequently when it comes to sports teams, but one that's apt when applied to the Spring-Ford High School softball program.

Spring-Ford manager Tim Hughes, in his 15th season, has built a tradition of winning.  The Lady Rams are not only are aware of the expectation of success, but relish in it as the start of the PAC-10 season approaches.

“We have been fortunate over the years to have some very good players,” said Hughes. “The seniors are always the kids that continue that tradition by passing what they’ve learned on to the younger girls. We only have two seniors this season, so there will be a lot of new faces in the lineup. I am confident that we will be ready to go when we get started for real.”

The Rams are coming off of a 14-4 regular season in which they defeated Perkiomen Valley in the PAC-10 semi final.

Seniors Allie Sasek, who has a rifle for an arm in centerfield, and Stephanie Diegel will be counted on heavily to provide leadership to a very inexperienced squad.

With the PIAA moving the pitching rubber back three strides to 43 feet, it should open up the games offensively, and the countless hours that have been spent in the off-season at the batting cages and tees appear to be already paying big dividends.

In a full squad scrimmage on Tuesday against perennial District One and State contender Hatboro-Horsham, the Rams pounded two home runs off of Division One prospect and ASA Blue Thunder hurler Maggie Kelly.

“We have such a young team,” said Sasek. “But we have so much potential. We have a huge team and a lot of girls that really want to play and I will do all we can to help them get ready and hopefully show them everything we know.”

Diegel, who will be handling the duties at catcher, set the tone as she crushed a ball over the left field wall, clearing the fence by six feet, to give the Rams a 2-0 lead.

“She really hammered that ball,” said Hatboro-Horsham manager Joe DiFillipo. “It even looked like she caught it off the end of the bat. They have some girls that can really swing the bat.”

Sasek prevented two runs from scoring during the tilt by gunning the ball to Diegel on successive plays from the outfield with runners in scoring position, which also got the attention of the opposing coaching staff.

“Their outfielders are going to be a factor for them,” added DiFillipo. “They made some very strong throws, especially the centerfielder, that really prevented us from doing what we wanted to on the base paths.”

The gauntlet that is the PAC-10 regular-season gets underway Friday as the Rams will host Phoenixville, followed by a visit by Pottsgrove on Saturday.

“We know our competition,” said Diegel. “The young girls have heard all of the stories about what it’s like to play in the PAC-10. It’s up to us to help them get ready for game action. It's up to us to step up to the plate.”

Spring-Ford will have three girls in friendly competition for the right to handle the pitching duties as incumbent Christy Robinson, who has changed her delivery since last season, will yield to Alyssa Mack and Haley Williams during the pre season before Hughes makes a decision on a starter.

“The girls make my job easy,” added Hughes. “When you have such talented kids, it really helps. It is 90 percent players talent and 10 percent coaching. We have so many girls that really understand the game and what it takes to be successful.”

“We have to get everybody playing together,” said Hughes. “Sometimes that takes a little while to gel. We have always been putting building blocks in place every year, since we have such an influx of talented girls. We will put our best nine players on the field and that’s the way we have done it for years. I am looking forward to this season in a very strong league.”