Building Block
JACKSON TWP — The challenge for first-year Seneca Valley softball coach Marlesse Hames is to keep a team with a number of first-year varsity players in the mix for a WPIAL Class 6A playoff berth.
Having a cornerstone like Maddie Gross to build around certainly doesn’t hurt.
The senior pitcher tallied eight strikeouts and clubbed a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday to help the Raiders defeat visiting Butler, 17-0, in three frames.
“I’ve always been able to hit for power and I take pride in being able to pitch and hit well for the team,” said Gross, who plays first or third base when not in the circle.
“Maddie has been a huge part of the team for the last few years,” said Hames, a longtime junior varsity coach at SV before she took the varsity job last summer. “She is consistent at the plate. We rotate the pitching between her and (freshman) Lexie Hames and she has learned a lot from Maddie.”
The Raiders improved to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in section play.
“We’ve been up and down,” Marlesse Hames added. “We’ve made youthful errors, but have a huge amount of talent. We just need to come together and jell and find the right mix in our lineup.”
SV had scored just seven combined runs in its previous four games, losing three of those contests.
“I feel we’ve been phenomenal on defense,” Gross said. “We just need the bats to wake up.”
They were wide awake against Butler, with four of the Raiders’ 11 hits going for extra bases. Leadoff hitter Hayley Walter had two doubles and scored three times.
Butler (0-3, 0-2) tallied just one hit in the game, Lily Vicari’s double in the top of the first.
“We have to remain positive because we have a very young team,” said Golden Tornado coach Cait Baxter. “At one point today, we had four freshmen and two sophomores in the field, and that’s normal for us this year.”
Behind the pitching of Tori Gilliland and Kelsey Ogin, Butler committed six errors.
“We have to make the plays in the field and we did not do that,” said Baxter. “That’s not the defense we’ve been seeing in practice.
“We’re going to wipe it clean and come back tomorrow.”
Both teams will play a non-section game Thursday. Seneca Valley travels to Plum while Butler visits Moniteau.
Butler 000 xxx x — 0 1 6
Seneca Valley 4(13)x xxx x — 17 11 0
W: Maddie Gross 3 IP (8K, 0BB). L: Tori Gilliland 1+ IP (0K, 3BB)
Butler (0-3, 0-2): Lily Vicari 2B
Seneca Valley (3-3, 2-3): Hayley Walter 2-2B 3R RBI, Kylie Staudt 2-1B 3R 3RBI, Maddie Gross 1B HR 4RBI, Mia Ryan 1B 2B R RBI
Thursday: Seneca Valley at Plum; Butler at Moniteau
