Sports
Softball: Phantoms Still Working Through the Growing Pains
Pottstgrove shut out Phoenixville, 10-0.
Phantoms pitcher Courtney Wieland was the victim of six unearned runs in Wednesday's 10-0 loss to Pottsgrove, but she didn't let that stop her from striking out the side in the sixth inning.
Wieland, who has made the successful transition from catcher last season to being the staff ace hurler this season, has been observing and taking notes as she has worked her way through the perils of the formidable Pioneer Athletic Conference schedule.
“We played so well yesterday at Boyertown that today was disappointing,” said Wieland. “We have high expectations of ourselves and are capable of more than what we showed today. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”
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Three first innings, errors led to four Falcons runs and put the Phantoms in a hole that they were never able to recover from, as Pottsgrove cashed in on two more fielding faux pas in the third as well to soar to a 7-0 edge.
“I can’t walk kids like I did early today,” added Wieland. “If we have one mistake and I have put extra runners on, we are handing them runs. It’s been interesting seeing a game from this point of view as last year I found a new respect for catchers and the job they do."
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Offensively, Lindsay Waller was the lone highlight for the Phantoms as she claimed both base hits on the day, the first as a result of a two-out bunt, when she caught the Falcons napping.
“Coach [Joe] Bogus told me to watch their corners,” said Waller. “If they were back at all the plan was to try a bunt, just to get something going with Gianna [Bliss] coming up behind me.“
Waller also ripped a single down the line in the ensuing at bat, but she would be the last Phantom to reach third base in the game.
“You aren’t going to win with two hits,” said Phoenixville manager Bogus. “And you sure aren’t going to win with throwing errors to first and not backing up base hits. We are young but that is no reason to play young.”
Instead of letting the loss impact her negatively, Wieland has chosen to use games like Wednesday’s as her own motivational program as she watched the Falcons' Marisa Kinneer command the mound.
“I am going to work my butt off going forward,” said Wieland. “I want to be the one out there striking everyone out. I am committed and I will do the work I need to get the results I want.”
Pottsgrove 4 0 3 0 0 3 - 10
Phoenixville 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0
Pottsgrove AB R H RBI
Robinson lf 2 2 2 0
Kinneer p 4 2 1 0
Kurtz cf 4 2 2 3
O’Brien 1b 4 1 1 0
Edleson c 3 2 1 1
Miller ss 3 1 1 1
Dickinson rf 2 0 0 0
Hartman 3b 3 0 1 2
Hansley ss 3 0 0 0
Totals 28 10 9 7
Phoenixville AB R H RBI
Loughery 3b 2 0 0 0
Stehman rf 3 0 0 0
Waller cf 3 0 2 0
Bliss ss 2 0 0 0
Wieland p 3 0 0 0
Gronski 1b 2 0 0 0
Boone 2b 2 0 0 0
Johnson dp 1 0 0 0
Totals 20 0 2 0
Pitching IP R ER H SO BB
Kinneer 6 0 0 2 9 5
Wieland 6 10 4 9 3 4
