Panthers Battle St. Eleanor's at the Armory

Saturday, May 14, 2011 – Norristown Armory Field

The JV Panthers played St. Eleanor’s at the Norristown Armory Field on Saturday for a 11 – 3 victory.   The game started with a bang with three runs in the first inning helped by a hard hit to second base by Marissa.  This was a two-hit game for Marissa who also got an RBI with a hit to the short-stop in the fifth.

MDP’s pitching group kept St. Eleanor’s batters out of sync the whole afternoon with 10 K’s for the game and excellent performances once again by Emily, Maddie and Jaime. 

Gina had a great play at second base stopping a grounder and tossing it to Melanie at first base, to end the inning.  Gina also hit a strong grounder to the pitcher for an RBI.

Rachel had a big day at the plate with two base hits to second base both driving in runs for the team.

Zoe also had a big-time hit to second that drove in a run to top off the top of the fourth inning, and another strong hit to the pitcher in the fifth.

Tess had a great play at second and tossed the ball to first base to end the inning.

Jaime got in on the “hot bat” action with a sharply-hit ball to the short-stop for another RBI for the team.

Emily was looking like a “gold glove” nominee at first grabbing two fly balls at first base in the fourth inning, and was the recipient of nice play from Tess.

Lauren was another Panther with a two hit game with a fly ball to center field, and another hit to the pitcher resulting in an RBI.

Melanie and Lauren also had two strong throws from the plate to second base on steal attempts, while Carley and Natalie also were strong in the infield and outfield backing up every play. 

Posted by: Coach "M"

Panthers Split Weekend Games

Saturday, April 30, 2011 – Norristown Armory Field

The JV Panthers took on Our Lady of Victory (OLV) at the Norristown Armory Field on Saturday.  In a very hard fought game the Panthers were out-scored late in the game for a 4 – 1 loss.

The scored remained tied at 1 for three full innings with each team battling for that go-ahead run and neither team giving an inch.

MDP was lead by a very strong pitching group Maddie, Jaime and Katie.  As a group they had seven strike-outs and only allowed OLV to scatter five hits, and each one was involved in multiple defensive plays at home plate and first base.

 
Behind the plate were Melanie and Lauren, both were strong competitors throughout the game, blocking pitches, guarding against the steals and with good defensive plays.   Both Lauren and Melanie had plays at home where the bases were loaded, and held their position at the plate, which kept the game close.  

Melanie and Maddie combined for one play at home denying OLV the run, while Jaime stopped two grounders in front of the mound, and tossed it to Lauren, two plays in a row….stopping two more potential runs from scoring.

Alaina was a strong competitor at 3^rd base guarding the line for some well-hit balls and had a nice head-ups play at third to get the lead runner out.   Natalie also had a good showing on second base and had a great play at second for another out to end an inning.

Gina had a great play at short-stop making a great play on a sharply hit ball.  Zoe pounded a hard line drive past the SS for another base hit to keep an inning alive.

Melaine had a good stop at third and made the long throw to first where Katie was waiting to get the runner out.

Marissa, Carley and Tess had another good day in the field, showing expertise in every position they played.

Sunday, May 1, 2011 – John Deere Field

The JV Panthers took on St. Helena’s at the John Deere Field in Zieglersville on Sunday for a 12-3 victory.   After a very scenic ride to Zieglersville, the team was met by large amusement rides being setup for a carnival that upcoming week.   There was a three Bears ride that was parked just behind the left fielder….made for some interesting ground rules.

MDP again had a very strong showing by the pitching group, Maddie, Katie and Rachel.  Katie had a combined 8K’s for the weekend. 

Emily hit a long fly ball in the fourth inning for the team’s first Home Run of the season!!   Congratulations Emily!!

Awesome Home Run.....Congratulations!!!

Katie also got in on the long-ball group by hitting a fly ball to right field for a double.

Tess and Gina both hit very hard liners past the 3^rd baseman for base hits. Lauren also got into the action with a sharp hit to the SS for another base hit.

Maddie showed her track speed by beating out a hit to the pitcher, and brought in an RBI in the first.

Melanie pounded a long fly ball into deep left field that almost took out one of the amusement rides…..

Jaime, Carley, Tess, Natalie and Zoe rounded out our team for the day, stopping every ball hit to them in every position they played, and hustling to backup plays at that bases.  

Posted by: Coach "M"

Panthers Rally in Downpour

The weather for Saturday was a very dreary forecast, for cold winds and drenching downpours.   But the weather was not going to stop JV Panthers from putting some finishing touches on another great win.  MDP was up against a very good opponent in IHM (Immaculate Heart of Mary) on Saturday under some very ominous clouds and a stiff wind, making the conditions more like a football game in November, then a softball game in mid-April.

MDP took an early lead with strong pitching from Emily and Maddie and some heads up fielding, but IHM made a comeback in the top of the second to take the lead.   Despite the terrible weather conditions, the girls found some reserves and in the bottom of the forth with some clutch hits and aggressive base running took back the lead.

Rachel had a clutch hit to right field that brought in the go-ahead runs that put MDP in the lead in the bottom of the 4^th inning.  The team rallied behind Rachel as she shut down the IHM batters with some great pitches, as the cold rain and wind continued to worsen in the top of the fifth inning.  Katie was in the bullpen waiting her turn to face the opposition in the next inning, if the game continued in the downpour.   

The girls were able to hold off the final surge by the opponent as everyone did the final “High Fives” as the heavens dumped buckets of water on both teams and their fans.

There were a number of great plays on Saturday with Tess grabbing the ball in the outfield relaying to Melanie at first, who then fired ball to Lauren at home, who managed to hang onto the ball despite the runner bearing down on her….definitely would have been an ESPN Highlight.   Another infield play from Maddie at SS to Katie at first to Rachel at home was surely a thing of beauty.

Carley also grabbed a high fly ball as short-stop, even though the wind was carrying it every which way….“Pop Up” practice has really paid off.

Our aggressive base running got very exciting as Jaime was stealing second and the IHM catcher made a spectacular throw from home to second base.   Jaime was able to make it to second safely, but the IHM player kept the ball in her hand and the Ump gave the play to the IHM in a very, very close play.

Gina, Marissa, Jaime and Tess comprised our outfield most of the day on Saturday and they were all very impressive in their ability to keep their focus and provide backup on every fielding play to not let IHM to get any multi-base hits.  Our hats off to these girls for their contribution to the win on Saturday, it would not have been possible without them.

The girls are really very impressive how they support every member of the team, whether they are in the field or up to bat.   They cheer no matter what the score, and show every team members how important they are each and every time they take the field.

A special shout out to our fans, who braved the weather on Saturday to cheer on the girls, and the team…… 

Posted by: Coach "M"

Weekend Schedule (4/16 and 4/17)

Saturday, April 16 - HOME GAME - IHM vs MDP @ MDP Field starting at 11:00 am

Please have the girls at the field by 10:30 am. 

Unable to attend: Alaina

 

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Sunday, April 17 - NO GAME - this original game has been rescheduled for April 30th

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Week of April 17 - This is Holy Week - in observance of Holy Week there will not be any practices or games during this week.

Posted by: Coach "M"

Paint, Prep, and People Power for Panther Pride

The 2011 JV Softball Season started off right, with many of the parents and coaches working hard to spruce up the field and backstop with some much needed paint and field maintenance.

Under the guidance of Mike Cristinzio, the field is looking very professional and many of the visiting teams have commented on how nice our field looks.

Tom McNabb even asked a local landscaper friend Farrell Carota to lend him a large backhoe to backfill the field to level out all of the bumps to give the girls a nice smooth field to play. The field even has a new equipment box and we are the only field in the league with “Foul Poles”, painted in a nice bright yellow.

Our thanks to all the parents, coaches and friends that have helped to make our field a “Work of Art”!!

 

Posted by: Coach "M"

 

MDP JV Softball - Saturday's game is CANCELLED

Saturday's game was cancelled because the field at Waterworks was too wet to play.  Our goal is to try to make this game up during a weeknight at the MDP field.

Posted by: Coach "M"

Saturday, April 9th - Game #5

Saturday, April 9 - AWAY GAME - MDP vs St. Philip Neri at (St. Eleanor's) Waterworks park starting at 11:00 am

Please have the girls at the field by 10:30 am. 

Directions to Waterworks park

From 422 West:

• Exit 422 West at Route 29 Collegeville/Phoenixville
• Turn right at the end of the ramp (head towards Collegeville) – 29 North
• Follow to Main Street (to where you need to go right or left, no thru movement), turn left onto Main Street
• Follow Main Street thru Collegeville, past Ursinus College, turn left onto First Avenue
• Follow First Avenue right into the Waterworks Park - the field is a little bit of a walk from the parking lot

Plan on travel time of a little under 30 min from MDP

Waterworks park is a little tricky to find - you access it off of Main Street, past Ursinus, left onto a road called First Avenue in Trappe, PA - as I recall the road is not clearly marked.  Plus, if you are lost, the field really has nothing to do with St. Eleanor's other than they use it for games.

Posted by: Coach "M"