Spring-Ford Game of the Week

Baseball Comes Back Against Boyertown

Down in the dumps with a depressing 7-0 deficit in two-and-a-half innings, the Rams baseball squad faced off against the Boyertown Bears - another difficult opponent. The boys dropped a 10-5 loss to Methacton on Monday night.

"We're still trying to figure out who we are as a baseball team," said head coach Bruce Brobst. "I believe we have not put together our best baseball yet. We haven't put together all phases of the game - pitching, defense and offense. Our offense has struggled to get key hits. We have not struggled to get runners on base, but we've struggled to get the hit when you have runners on base."

The Bears were pitching one of the PAC-10's best in Austin Heimbach and Spring-Ford knew it had an uphill battle.

"We knew in order to beat him we needed to hang in there and keep the game close," Brobst said. "It didn't really go the way I wanted it to go, like a 2-1 or 3-2 or even 4-3 game. So, when we were down 7-3, I thought it was a big deficit for us. I give my guys a lot of credit just keeping on playing, taking advantage of opportunities, having good at bats and putting themselves in place to win the game."

The boys scored five runs in two innings, breaking down the lead to two by the end of four. That's when the defense kicked in. Another run was not scored until the bottom of the seventh, with the game on the line.

"The very last inning, we were down two, and Cody [Clarke] hit a leadoff double," said Brobst. "Then there was a walk and another walk to load the bases."

After that, there was a popup in the infield, and junior outfielder Connor Simmons came to the plate. Simmons (2-3, 2 RBI) hit a double down the left field line to score two and tie the game. Junior R.J. Sheldon was then able to score the winning run when the Bears tried to throw the pickoff play at second, but threw it into center field.

"We've talked about it can't be just one guy, it can't be just two guys," said Brobst. "That's where we're at as a team offensively. It's hard to play from behind constantly. So, for us to come back helps us a whole lot with our psyche. We could have lost that game, but kept ourselves in it and battled back."

Brobst ended with giving his pitcher, Krystian Deluzio, a nod of approval.

"I give Krystian credit, because things just didn't go his way," said Brobst. "They made a bunch of bunt hits and we didn't field the ball well and made a number of mistakes to give up four or five runs. But, he just kept his composure out there, kept throwing strikes, kept doing his job - and let the other guys understanding [what their jobs were]. Richie [Michaud] coming in and throwing the seventh inning, he was very effective."

Softball Has "Old School" Kind of Game

Although the undefeated streak has effectively come to an end for the Lady Rams with a Wednesday Methacton loss, the streak was still alive on Monday when they faced Owen J. Roberts.

The girls knew the Wildcats would be a tough opponent coming in, but a passed ball in the first inning would be the deciding factor.

"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 first inning score for Spring-Ford proved the only score of the entire game for either squad. The girls took that one, 1-0.

Boys Lacrosse Edges Boyertown in Final Eight Seconds

Down two with a little over three minutes to go, the Spring-Ford boys and junior leader Paul Major knew something needed to be done fast before it was too late. Undefeated in the PAC-10, the Rams were up against a tough Boyertown squad.

"Boyertown came out and played very hard," said head coach Kevin Donnelly. "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."

Major scored two goals within 10 seconds with less than two minutes to go to tie. And, with the win in mind, Major was able to toss the game winner in with just eight seconds left in regulation. The Bears did not have enough time to score, and Spring-Ford took the game, 11-10.