Eagles' Softball Catches Break, Then Fire In Victory

Given the way the softball team opened its season Wednesday, the players and coaches were not about to complain about the way the Eagles took the lead Thursday.

Locked up in a 3-3 tie with Colonial Conference rival Overbrook, West Deptford scored the go-ahead run on a dropped third strike. The mistake by Overbrook led to two more West Deptford runs in the fifth inning and an eventual 7-3 win that evened the team’s record to 1-1.

The Eagles were outclassed by Paul VI in its opener, 12-1, so a quick response was essential if the team was serious about contending this season.

“It was huge,” West Deptford coach Amanda Schramm said of the win. “We didn’t play well (Wednesday) and Paul VI did a great job against us, but it concerned me. I made some changes based on yesterday’s performance and it worked and it helped the team.

"Everything seemed a lot smoother out there. We are going to make some mistakes because we have some inexperienced players out there, so it’s going to happen, but at least we minimized it for us.”

The Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to an RBI single by Sydney Ponto and two RBI single from Summer Wenzel. The score remained that way until the top of the third when Overbrook responded with three runs on two hits and two errors off Ponto, who was just medically cleared to pitch earlier in the day. She was dealing with an arm injury that affected her throwing overhand more than underhand, according to Schramm.

West Deptford took the lead for good in the fifth inning, thanks to some timely hitting and an Overbrook mistake. Ponto and Marissa Linquist each singled, while Kat Ziegler worked a walk to load the basesd with two outs.

Katie Boyd came up and struck out on a pitch in the dirt, but it got past the Overbrook catcher, allowing Boyd to get to first and Ponto to score, giving the Eagles a 4-3 advantage. Morgan Brown followed with a two-run double.

Brown, who was a part-time player last year, is hoping to make big strides now that she is the team’s starting first baseman.

“I love it,” Brown said of her new role. “It feels good to come out and be part of the team and produce good hits and make things happen.”

The Eagles had five base runners in the inning, producing three hits.

“I think we need to connect our hits,” Ponto said. “We have a hit here and a hit there, and today in the (fifth inning), we had hit after hit after hit.”

Wenzel added her third RBI of the game on a bunt single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ponto shut the door from there.

“I talked to (Ponto) last night and I told her exactly what I wanted out of her,” Schramm said. “I wanted her to throw strikes and not overthrow or worry about different pitches. I really think her fastball can overpower a lot of hitters. Most hitters aren’t going to be able to touch her fastball. She did a good job and did exactly what I asked.”

“It was a little nerve-wracking coming into the game,” said Ponto. “After the (third), I knew we had to keep them at three runs.”

The Eagles hope the win is the sign of good things to come. They are back in action Saturday at Cherokee.

Said Schramm, “Overbrook and us are kind of rivals, so it’s nice for use to send a message to them and the rest of the conference.”