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Southeastern Pa. softball notes

Villa Maria Academy's Erin Macri and St. Basil's Sam Gibson experienced some problems with their pitching arms in recent months, so neither was looking for extra innings in her team's Athletic Association of Catholic Academies softball meeting Saturday.

Villa Maria Academy's Erin Macri and St. Basil's Sam Gibson experienced some problems with their pitching arms in recent months, so neither was looking for extra innings in her team's Athletic Association of Catholic Academies softball meeting Saturday.

But extra innings are what both got.

Melissa Mulvey drove in Anyssa Flores with the lone run in the Panthers' nine-inning, 1-0 win over the Hurricanes (2-2).

And neither pitcher was none the worse for the extra innings she worked. In fact, with Gibson throwing a four-hitter and Macri giving up only five hits, the game took about as much time as a usual seven-inning matchup.

"It only took about an hour and a half with both sides going up and down quickly, but it was nervewracking," said Macri, who had experienced tendinitis last summer.

"I took some cortisone shots and rested the arm for a while after it started."

Gibson, who agreed that the game was nervewracking, had rotator cuff problems last summer and decided not to pitch for her travel team this season. She is limiting her pitching to the Panthers (4-1).

"I've never pitched nine innings in one game before," Gibson said. "My arm felt fine, but it was tough pitching."

Macri acknowledged that her arm was beginning to get sore before the game ended.

"I'm feeling fine now," she said. "Our defense was flawless. We've just got to focus on our hitting."

Three too many. Pennridge's first-year softball coach, Paul Koehler, says that he bleeds green and white as a 1974 graduate of the school. And right now, he'd like to stop his team's three-game losing streak.

Koehler lost several players from last year's team that just missed the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs but started this season a very promising 3-0. Koehler took over for Scott Didra.

Pennridge plays in the Suburban One League Continental Conference, arguably the toughest of the league's three conferences. The Rams' losses came to conference foes Central Bucks South (5-4), North Penn (4-0), and Central Bucks East (6-2). The Rams' defeat against South came in 10 innings, and they blew a 2-0 lead after four innings against East.

"The loss to South was a real heartbreaker," said Koehler, a longtime travel-team coach and former coach of Pennridge's freshman team.

"Paige [DeCew] pitched a great game against South. We didn't help ourselves against East. We left 10 on base and committed four errors."

Koehler said he's working to get a number of players situated in positions. Six of the 13 players on his squad were freshmen or played on the junior varsity last season.

"Our styles are different," Koehler said, comparing himself to Didra. "It's been a challenge, but I think the kids are beginning to understand my style."

Koehler is looking to freshman Emily Mayhew and sophomores Morgan Leatherman and Allison Horne to give the Rams a lift. Koehler had Brooke Labs switch from the outfield to third base to strengthen the Rams' infield defense.

Pennridge will face another tough conference opponent Friday in Souderton.