Stocks' slam boosts C.B. South

Haileigh Stocks surveyed the Souderton defense and saw a drawn-in infield and a shallow outfield. Ahead in the count, 2-0, she looked for a pitch to drive into a gap or over the outfielders' heads.

The pitch came down the middle of the plate, waist high - "where I like it," Stocks said afterward - and she ripped it exactly where she hoped: into the right-centerfield gap and over the outfielders' heads. The gusting Warrington wind took care of the rest.

The ball cleared the fence by a few feet for a grand slam, propelling Central Bucks South to a 14-1, five-inning victory Tuesday in a Suburban One Continental softball game.

Stocks said the grand slam was the first she had hit. Asked how it felt, the senior smiled.

"All right," she said.

Stocks did more than all right on the mound, as well. Despite lacking a couple of miles per hour off her fastball and her usual command because of the wind, she pitched all five innings and struck out seven, allowing four hits.

"They put the ball in play more than we're used to," said interim South coach Dan Hayes, who is filling in for Jennifer Robinson during her maternity leave.

That's a testament to how sharp Stocks, a Robert Morris recruit, has been for the Titans (5-1 overall, 2-0 Continental). In their last game, against Pennridge, she had struck out eight in a five-inning shutout.

The Titans' bats have been equally overpowering, posting double-digit runs in each of the past three games. Senior third baseman Morgan Decker reached base in all four of her plate appearances Tuesday, including an RBI double and triple. First baseman Kristyn Marinelli and rightfielder Hallie Bilker each added a triple and two RBIs from the bottom of the order.

When the Titans "don't really waste any at-bats, we can work together and make some runs happen," Stocks said.

The Titans have won five in a row since a 2-1, season-opening loss to Christopher Dock, a game Stocks said "woke us up." Any hangover from last year's stunning loss in the district playoffs has quickly subsided.

"We've really taken care of business the way we should," Hayes said.

After finishing 18-6 and reaching the state quarterfinals last season, Souderton (2-3, 1-1) has struggled in the absence of graduated pitcher Liz Perkins. Her replacement, sophomore Heather Milligan, lasted just two innings Tuesday, a week after a shutout of Central Bucks West in the Indians' league opener.

Milligan walked four and allowed four hits and five earned runs. She walked the first two batters of the second inning, before a Jae Epstein bunt single set up Stocks' big hit.

Souderton   00100 - 143

Central Bucks South   3542x - 14111

WP: Haileigh Stocks. LP: Heather Milligan. 2B: S-Paige Shelly; CBS-Morgan Decker. 3B: CBS-Hallie Bilker, Decker, Kristyn Marinelli. HR: CBS-Stocks.