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Hatboro-Horsham wins with small ball

It is all about execution for the Hatboro-Horsham softball team. Jen Cader and Meg Hallock will tell you so. Laying down bunts to advance runners, slapping the ball for an infield single, and being aggressive on the base paths are all vital to what the Hatters are trying to do on the diamond this season.

Hatboro-Horsham's Megan Hallock slides safely into home ahead of the
ball thrown to Quakertown catcher Maddie Calder (right) to score the
team's first run. (Michael S. Wirtz/Staff Photographer)
Hatboro-Horsham's Megan Hallock slides safely into home ahead of the ball thrown to Quakertown catcher Maddie Calder (right) to score the team's first run. (Michael S. Wirtz/Staff Photographer)Read more

It is all about execution for the Hatboro-Horsham softball team.

Jen Cader and Meg Hallock will tell you so.

Laying down bunts to advance runners, slapping the ball for an infield single, and being aggressive on the base paths are all vital to what the Hatters are trying to do on the diamond this season.

In a 10-2 victory over Quakertown on Wednesday in a Suburban One Continental matchup, the Hatters accomplished all of that.

They even threw in a successful suicide squeeze in the second inning.

"We really, really, really lay down the bunts," said Hallock, a senior shortstop. "It is a big thing for our team.

"We are a quick team, and if you mess up, we are on top of it. We are there," she added.

Small ball got things started for the Hatters (5-2 overall, 4-2 conference), as they earned three singles on bunts in the first inning and took a 4-0 lead entering the second.

And it isn't just slap hitters such as Hallock who put down bunts for Hatboro-Horsham. Power hitters Daria Edwards and Cader can play small ball, too.

It is all a part of what makes the Hatters, currently sitting atop the Suburban One Continental, so successful.

That, and the absolute certainty with which this quick team runs the bases.

Despite hitting the ball hard and getting on base, the Panthers (4-3, 2-3) struggled to get runners across the plate. Quakertown stranded 14, squandering opportunities to chip away at the Hatters' lead.

Five times, the Panthers left a runner on third base, as Lexi Campbell, the Hatters' junior pitcher, settled in.

It was only the third game this season decided by three or more runs for Hatboro. Four of the Hatters' games, including three against conference opponents, have been decided by a single run.

"It was a good feeling to get out and finally break the gate open and get a lot of runs," said Cader, a junior centerfielder. "We've really been working on execution."

With 10 runs on 11 hits, it looks as if all the work paid off.

Quakertown 000 001 1 - 2 7 4

Hatboro-Horsham 410 113 0 - 10 11 2

WP: Lexi Campbell. LP: Alyssa Wilkinson. 2B: Q-Meg Klee 2. 3B: HH-Dee Moyer.