Mercury Spring Roundup (March 14): PAC spring sports season gets underway with packed Friday slate

by ed morrone

Note: The spring sports season officially kicked off on Monday, with boys’ tennis getting an early start on the festivities from Monday through Thursday. On Friday, baseball, softball and lacrosse joined the fray; here’s an early look on how Pioneer Athletic Conference teams have made out in the first week of the new season.

Baseball

Upper Merion 8, Interboro 1

Tristan Fanning struck out 13 batters in five innings to pick up the win while surrendering just two hits and two walks for UM in the team’s opener. Teddy Walmsley and John Tomsho each knocked in three runs for the Vikings.

Upper Perkiomen 4, Brandywine Heights 1

Cole Pierce fired five shutout innings on the mound while going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs knocked in as UP emerged victorious from its first game of the season. Jack Rieg pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts to earn the save.

Oxford 5, Norristown 3

Matt Leary threw four innings of two-run ball and also went 1-for-2 with a stolen base and a run scored but Oxford edged Norristown in the 2025 opener.

Wilson 9, Owen J. Roberts 2

Shane O’Connor struck out seven in five scoreless innings of relief for OJR, but the Wildcats managed just three hits as they dropped their first ballgame on the diamond.

Softball

Methacton 8, Downingtown East 3

Sadie Fitch pitched a complete game with six strikeouts while Methacton scattered 13 hits, four of them for extra bases, in the team’s 2025 opener. Fitch and Kaitlin Pettine each knocked in a pair of runs at the plate.

Pottsgrove 12, Daniel Boone 2

Mackenzie Johnson struck out 10 in a complete game victory and Ava Matrone plated three runs for the Falcons in a victorious 2025 opener. Mackenzie Gray, Delaney Rice and Arianna Gonzalez all had multiple hits in the win.

Upper Perkiomen 9, Brandywine Heights 5

Jocelyn Sledgen pitched a complete game win while the Indians pounded out 13 hits, which included two doubles and three triples in the season-opening victory.

Boyertown 10, Exeter Township 0

Samantha Sobeck went 3-for-4 with a home run and Lindsay Mathias also left the yard for the Bears, who enjoyed a shutout victory to begin their 2025 campaign. Kyra Neiswender allowed just three hits in six innings while striking out seven in the complete game shutout.

Owen J. Roberts 13, Unionville 1

Maddie Reed struck out 19 batters in a complete-game victory while Amelia Atkins drove in six runs as the Wildcats erupted for 17 hits to start the season off with a bang. Both Atkins and Reed homered in the win as well.

Perkiomen Valley 4, Central Bucks South 1

Maci Strechay punched out 14 batters as last year’s Mercury All-Area player of the year got her 2025 season off to a rousing start in a complete game win. Olivia Sharkey hit a solo home run for the Vikings in the win.

Upper Moreland 14, Phoenixville 2

Upper Moreland had 15 hits and scored in every inning but the first, quickly turning a 1-0 deficit into an 8-2 advantage through five as Phoenixville dropped its 2025 opener on Friday.

Norristown 6, Wissahickon 5

Alana Echevarria went 3-for-4 with an RBI double while Alana Colson supplied a bases-clearing triple to help the Eagles win their first game of the new season. Wissahickon scored three runs in the top of the seventh to start a rally, but Echevarria closed things down in the pitching circle to put the finishing touches on her complete game win.

Girls Lacrosse

Upper Merion 8, Harriton 5

Upper Merion won its 2025 season opener, getting three goals apiece from Maura Besz and Gabby Callison. Jessican Reinhardt added two scores, and Elisa Dougherty and Rya Devers had multiple assists for the Vikings. Maddie Novitski and Nancy Castro-Medina combined for 10 saves in goal.

Kennett 9, Perkiomen Valley 6

Alexis Keysock and Holli Nuss each scored twice, with Nuss also adding two assists in PV’s season opener though the Vikings came up a tad short against Kennett. Kendall Tobin and Julia Foley also scored for Perk Valley, and Charlotte Foster made 14 saves in a losing effort.

Garnet Valley 7, Phoenixville 5

Phoenixville jumped out to a 4-3 halftime lead in the 2025 opener but Garnet Valley scored four of five third-quarter tallies en route to an eventual two-goal win. Jenny Green and Taylor Halloran each scored three goals for the Jaguars.

Quakertown 15, Upper Perkiomen 4

Olivia Keyser scored three goals to go with five draw controls, four ground balls and two caused turnovers but the Indians fell to Quakertown on Friday. Angelina Glackin also scored for Upper Perk, and Jade Bugman contributed two assists. Madison Hicks registered 10 saves in goal for UP.

Wissahickon 18, Methacton 3

Alexa Diezel scored twice for Methacton and Laura Blake also found the back of the net for the Lady Warriors, who were upended by Wissahickon in the season opener. Goalie Callie Fisher made 14 saves for the Lady Warriors.

Boys Lacrosse

Boyertown 6, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1

Wissahickon 11, Upper Merion 4

Great Valley 13, Methacton 6

Boys Tennis

3/14:

Boyertown 6, Upper Merion 1

Daniel Boone 4, Upper Perkiomen 3

Souderton 7, Pottsgrove 0

3/13:

Owen J. Roberts 7, Norristown 0

Wilson 5, Boyertown 1