Liz Parkins and Souderton are on fire

Three years ago a bad case of arm tendinitis turned out to be good for Liz Parkins, senior pitching ace for Souderton. It was her older sister Emily, now playing at Shippensburg, who developed the condition.

"As luck would have it, her tendinitis gave me a chance to show my talent," Liz said.

Given that chance, Parkins was determined to make the best of it. And she has. This season she has been she has been on fire, and so have her Indians teammates.

A righthander, Parkins has been the key to the 14-3 Indians' 11-game winning streak, the longest of the high school season in this area.

In those 11 games, Parkins has allowed just three earned runs in 71 innings. She has struck out 113 batters.

"Liz has been a shutdown pitcher," said second-year Souderton coach Courtney Hughes. "She has been such a hard worker and she brings such a positive attitude to the team."

Overall, Parkins is 12-2 with a 0.74 ERA.

After going 7-7 in Suburban One League Continental Conference play last season (12-7 overall), the Indians are now in a position to tie for the conference title. They'd need archrival North Penn to knock off conference leader Hatboro-Horsham on Monday while they are beating Central Bucks East. Both would then have 11-3 conference records.

The Indians are coming off impressive wins over Hatboro-Horsham and defending District 1 Class AAAA champion Central Bucks South in what is arguably the most competitive league in the area. C.B. South beat Hatboro-Horsham for the district title last season.

In the Big Red's 4-1 win over the Hatters, Parkins' pitching and hitting led the way. While recording Souderton's first win over Hatboro-Horsham since 2006, Parkins struck out 18 against one of the area's strongest-hitting lineups, top to bottom.

Six of her strikeouts came against the Hatters' top two hitters, nine against the top four. Julie Wambold, the No. 3 hitter, was the lone Hatter to get a hit off Parkins.

Parkins was also 3 for 3 at the plate with a double and two runs batted in.

In beating South, 2-0, Parkins took a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh inning before Lauren Klepchick singled.

"We played 11 games in the last 10 school days and Liz has just been superb," said junior Mollie Burrell, her batterymate for the last two seasons. "Because we were playing back-to-back [thanks to rainouts], we weren't overthinking anything. Ignorance is bliss."

Burrell, the entertainment editor for the school newspaper The Arrowhead, said a 6-0 conference loss to North Penn on April 15 was the turning point for the Indians.

Parkins, who throws in the low 60s, attributes her success to Burrell, who calls the pitches for her, and her pitching coach, Courtney McGovern.

"I've got speed but I knew definitely I had to work on ball movement this season," said Parkins who has six pitches in her repertoire. "It's been an amazing year."

Parkins and Burrell have known each other for some time while playing for the Harleysville Thunderbirds travel program.

"Liz doesn't shake me off," Burrell said. "She knows how to make use of every one of her pitches. We have great pitcher-catcher chemistry."

"Liz is a very smart pitcher," added McGovern, a former Downingtown standout and veteran pitching coach.

Parkins said she couldn't have dreamed of the success she and her teammates have had this season. She and Burrell were the two most experienced players returning from a that did not make the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs last season. With the district seeding meeting Thursday, the Indians are virtually assured of a spot this time. And Parkins says she's ready.

"The playoffs should be very interesting," said Parkins, who plans to join her sister at Shippensburg next season.