Rams Report: Coaches Time Out

spring sports are beginning to come into their own as of late. Streaks continue, tough battles ensue and preparations are being made for the postseason for some. Teams may have a bump in the road with Saturday's prom, but all-in-all coaches showed confidence in their teams this week.

The spring coaches took a midweek break to chat with Patch.

Baseball's Fight Not Enough in Methacton Loss

Head coach Bruce Brobst said last week that he hoped his team could put together two nice games against Upper Perkiomen and Owen J. Roberts, and the boys performed, defeating both teams.

"We're still learning, but Upper Perk was a real nice game," Brobst said. "We got out on them early and hit the ball well, and pitched well. It was just a nice result to that one."

The Owen J. win was a 6-3 victory where the boys had some nice opportunities to capitalize. Pitcher Richie Michaud performed well, coupled with good defense behind him. Brobst was pleased with the win.

Unfortunately, the Rams couldn't put another W on the schedule on Monday night, losing to Methacton, 10-5.

"They hit the ball real well," said Brobst. "They scored in almost every inning. We were in a hole. I was very encouraged by the fact that we were in a hole and were able to battle back to some degree. It was encouraging to see fight in them and keep after it even though we were down a lot of runs."

Spring-Ford heads to Boyertown tonight for another difficult game.

"They're pitching their best kid," Brobst said. "I heard he throws pretty hard. That will be a challenge for us putting the ball in play. I really want to see what we can do with this guy and for our pitching and defense to keep us in the game. Hopefully we'll be around at the end and see what happens then."

The Rams also get a rematch on Friday against Phoenixville, which defeated Spring-Ford in the first game of the season.

"We need to redeem ourselves in front of them to show them that's not who we really are," said Brobst.

Brobst paid homage to Michaud, as well as senior catcher Ryan Conway for outstanding performances.

"Ryan was playing really well behind the plate and swung the bat hard the other night," Brobst concluded. "He just goes out and plays hard every day. I really give it to Ryan because you've got to play on both sides. It was really hot Monday night, but you never have to question him because he goes out and plays hard every night."

Softball Still Undefeated After Defensive Battle

The softball team is still undefeated overall this season after recent wins against Pope John Paul II, Upper Perkiomen and Owen J. Roberts.

Last Wednesday was not a good day for the Panthers, as they only scored one run versus the Rams' 14.

"They came back out and beat Pottsgrove the other day, but I think they're much better than their score was," said head coach Tim Hughes. "I'm proud of our kids. They came out and played hard. Hit the ball and played defense which is key to anybody's victory."

The girls came back out the next day against Upper Perkiomen, pulling ahead strong in the fourth inning.

"We had a couple of mistakes there, but again, I don't mind a tight game," Hughes said. "Those tight games build character later on in the season."

The toughest game of the season by far had to be Monday's 1-0 victory over Owen J. Roberts. The girls scored one run in the first inning and no one scored again.

"Both teams played really well in that one," Hughes said. "They had a passed ball that gave up the run. I was really happy because we did outhit them. Both pitchers pitched well and defenses played well. They made fantastic plays. That's the first time in years there was a 1-0 game since they moved the mound back from 40 to 43. I didn't anticipate that. It was an old school, 1-0 softball game."

The girls are playing Methacton today (in progress), which should be another difficult one.

"Scary," Hughes said. "We're at Methacton. We're not used to playing on an open field. I think our kids are ready to go. They worked hard in practice and are ready to put out their best. As long as we don't make too many mistakes, I'll be okay with it if they end up beating us."

The girls then finish up against Boyertown on Friday.

"That's another tough one," Hughes said. "Methacton has two losses, one to Boyertown, and Boyertown is a one-loss team. This is a tough week for us so far. The season kind of turned out that way. I'll be honest, we're looking to get two out of three this week. If we do that, it keeps us where we want to be in terms of the Final Four."

Boys Tennis Wrapping Up the Regular Season

Spring-Ford boys tennis held its annual invitational tournament on Saturday, inviting Manheim Central, Downingtown East and Upper Merion. The boys were only able to pick up one win in the tourney.

"Downingtown East and Manheim Central are really good teams," said head coach John Brennan. "They both only have one loss. We played really good competition. I think we learned some things about what it takes to be a really good team again."

Tyler Triolo won all three of his matches against the non-league opponents.

The Rams also played and defeated Upper Perkiomen (7-0) and Owen J. Roberts (7-0) last week.

"I was really happy with the way we played against Owen J," said Brennan. "They have a senior at first singles and two freshmen at second and third singles. They're young in their lineup. It's really promising to beat their guys in those spots, because we're young too."

The boys had a tough one to handle on Monday against Methacton. They lost 4-3, losing all of the doubles matches. Methacton is undefeated in the league.

"That was a tough loss to take," Brennan said. "If we could somehow beat Methacton and maybe get a win against Boyertown, we could still have made team district. We just came up a little short. I knew their doubles were really strong. I thought second and fourth doubles weren't ready to play to start. It's a tough way to lose. Credit to Methacton - they won those two and three set matches in doubles."

Today was supposed to be the final regular season match against Boyertown, but rain suspended the match to April 25. The Bears and Rams are playing for third place in the PAC-10.

Friday begins the postseason, with the PAC-10 Singles Tournament beginning at 9 a.m. at Perkiomen Valley High School. District singles is the following weekend, followed by PAC-10 doubles the weekend after, and district doubles the final weekend.

Brennan sees Triolo going far in singles, along with Triolo and junior Joey Graziadei possibly having a shot at the doubles crown.

"I'm hoping Tyler has a really good tournament," Brennan said. "It's never been done in PAC-10 history. We've never had a three-time PAC-10 champion. That is potentially out there for him. We want to do well at both levels in the upcoming weeks in singles and doubles. There's no reason why Ryan [Schweiter] and Joey can't win some singles matches in the tournament, too. They're talented guys."

The boys also lost to Radnor, 5-2, on Tuesday. Brennan was particularly pleased with the third doubles team, who picked up a win. Alex Caccese and Raghav Jain played lights out for the Rams according to Brennan.

Major Carries Boys Lacrosse Past Tough Teams

The boys lacrosse team is still undefeated in the PAC-10 with recent victories over Methacton (Friday, 13-6 win) and Boyertown (Monday, 11-10 win).

Junior Paul Major has been lights out. He scored six goals in the Methacton win, and put the last three goals in for the Rams against Boyertown. The boys were behind by two in the last 3:30. Major scored the game-winner with eight seconds to go in regulation.

"Methacton always comes out and plays tough," said head coach Kevin Donnelly. "They do a nice job every time we see them. Boyertown came out and played very hard. We struggled for most of the game. We were down two with a little over three minutes to go. Again, Paul just kind of took over the game. He threw us on his back in the last minute there to take care of business."

The boys' undefeated streak in the league takes them to the middle of the season. This week is a tough week for Spring-Ford. They play five games in eight days (Monday to Monday.

"Phoenixville is tonight," Donnelly said. "They played us tough at the beginning the last time we saw them. Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday is a pretty important one. We like to do well in all of our out-of-league contests as well. We need to really be ready for that one. We try and I hope our guys are looking one game at a time. We've got four games this week. If you want to go Monday to Monday, it's five games in eight days."

Donnelly also noted Stephen Bock as a standout this week. He had two goals on Friday and three on Monday.

Girls Lacrosse Heading into Tough Week

The girls lacrosse team has now won four in a row with recent victories over Pottsgrove (19-3), Upper Perkiomen (16-5) and Phoenixville (19-7).

In the Pottsgrove victory, sophomore Kira Gensler put up five goals.

"They came out strong and fast," said head coach Amy Short. "They played hard and really well. They moved the ball really quickly and got a lot of fast breaks. From what I remember, a lot of girls touched the ball that game. It was a nice change."

A lot of girls touched the ball again against Upper Perkiomen. Nine total players scored at least one goal. Senior leader Maddie Ward led with seven.

"That was another one where everything is starting to come together for them," Short said. "It's really nice to see all of their hard work starting to pay off. Now we're playing the smaller schools, but I think they're gaining their confidence in each other as much as they are in themselves. They feel comfortable passing it to anyone else on the team. They're definitely pushing themselves to go above and beyond to the next level."

Although the girls have won four straight, Short dismissed the notion of a "win streak."

"I don't know if it's a win streak or if it's just different teams we're playing," she said. "We started off with Great Valley, Boyertown, Henderson - all ranked in the top 10. We needed to get some confidence in ourselves and we got that when we started winning. I see a lot of happiness. They're proud of what they're doing. They're proud of each other."

Thursday's game has been postponed to May 1, but the girls open up Monday against Pottstown, which marks the beginning of a tough week.

"We have the prom on Saturday," Short said. "You never know. We're going into a rough week, so to have the prom this weekend really doesn't play to our favor. I've already talked to them about making smart decisions. So, it's all on them."

Short noted junior Erin Mensch as a player of note this week, saying she had a very strong couple of defensive games.

Track & Field Preparing to Finish Up Regular Season

The Track & Field team had two nice victories on both the boys and girls sides last week, the first coming to Pope John Paul II, and the second coming to Perkiomen Valley.

Head coach Ken DeAngelo broke down the outstanding performances of last week.

Boys
Pope John Paul II

• High Jump - Ryan Grosshanten, Ryan Connelly - both 5-feet-10 personal records [PR]
• Long Jump/Triple Jump - Joe Bush - 20-feet-8 in long jump, 39-feet-2 in triple jump
• Pole Vault - Ryan Pierson - 12-feet
• High Hurdles - Ryan Connelly - PR with 15.8

Perkiomen Valley

• 4x200 - Gold Medal
• Javelin - Andrew Scanlan - 179-feet PR

Girls
Pope John Paul II

• Long Jump - Nikki Lynch - 16-feet-4
• Hurdles - Nicole Cornell - 17-feet-2 (running through ankle injury); Lynch - 48.1 (first place); Leah Ohlert (52.9)
• 1600m - Anna Lombardo (5:41), Sam Christman (5:42)

Perkiomen Valley

• 4x200 - Gold Medal

The Rams head to Pottsgrove today for a tri-meet (in progress) against Owen J. Roberts and Pottsgrove.

"I think it will be a pretty good meet for both teams for the boys and girls," said DeAngelo. "I know Owen J. is undefeated in the girls and their boys have lost one. It will be a pretty competitive meet."

The kids go on to Great Valley on Saturday. DeAngelo said despite prom being that night, the upper classmen are ready for the competition.

"This is the first year we've had prom other than the day of the PAC-10 Championship," he said. "I can honestly say in all my years coaching, we've never had one problem in any of the events where a girl missed because of prom. We give them the option to leave early with a parent and a lot of them do that. They do not leave until the event is over, though."

DeAngelo said the coaches try to impress upon the kids that when they go off to college, "every weekend is prom night."

"It's important for them to go to prom, but we want them to have dedication to their team members," said DeAngelo. "So basically at Great Valley, we'll be running the same kids we run every Saturday."

DeAngelo said many of the younger athletes have stepped up as of late and the coaches are looking for the distance kids to drop their times.

"Individually, we're looking for Sam DiPietro to be a leader amongst the young girls," DeAngelo said. "Haley Proschutti in the 800 should drop her times. Audrey Burger, a senior, who is running at Pittsburgh is on the comeback trail. She had some real injuries and battled mono[nucleosis]. We're looking for her to have some breakout meets, hopefully against Owen J. and Great Valley."

Joe O'Such, Jesse Magalon and Xavier Ingram are the leaders of the boys squad, according to DeAngelo. He also expects David O'Such, Ryan Grosshanten, and Joe Bush to make strides.