Back in the Twenty-Teens, a softball bout between Germantown Academy and Archbishop Carroll likely would have ended early due to the mercy rule, in favor of the team from Radnor. At that time, the Carroll program was thriving and GA's was struggling.

The two teams are both nicknamed the Patriots, and when they met last Wednesday at Carroll, it was GA that nailed down a mercy-rule victory, winning 17-4 in six innings.

It showed how far the Germantown Academy program has come since the COVID-cancelled season of 2020. The following spring Sarah Zimmerman, a teacher and administrator at the school, became head coach. That season the Pats finished close to the .500 mark, and in 2022 they were 11-8 overall and 7-5 within the Inter-Ac League. For the first time, a GA team participated in the PA Independent Schools postseason tournament, reaching the semifinal round.

It looks like GA's upward trajectory will continue, as the team got off to a 2-0 start with the Carroll victory. Both last year this year, the program has attracted talented young athletes who are experienced travel team players.

One of them, sophomore Liv Reynolds, went the distance in the pitching circle last Wednesday, throwing a five-hitter with three strike-outs and two walks.

A day earlier in Germantown's Inter-Ac League (and season) opener at Baldwin School, the pitcher was Clarissa Smith, a senior who will go on to play for Haverford College. She recorded 16 strike-outs in the Patriots' 5-1 victory, while at the plate sophomore Jazziah Manning went two-for-three with two RBI's and a home run.

On Wednesday at Carroll, it took awhile for the GA offense to be productive. In the top of the first inning, senior Kayleigh Howard (a graduate of Norwood Fontbonne Academy) singled up the middle with two outs, but was left on base. With one out in the second, Reynolds sent a hit through the left side of the infield. She moved to second base when senior Malia Walton grounded out, but then another ground-out retired the side.

Fortunately for the visitors, Carroll itself only generated one run during the first two frames, doubling home a runner who had walked on base in the bottom of the first.

GA's half of the third inning looked like it might start with an out, but didn't. Sophomore Alex Johnson hit the ball relatively softly back out toward the circle and then beat the pitcher's throw to first. She stole second, then advanced to third base on a ground-out by freshman Zoe Clark. The next batter lined out to right field, and then the visitors got a two-out rally going. 

Howard's hit to right center scored GA's first run, and freshman Ava Fiumara hit the ball to almost the same spot to put runners on first and second. A glaring afternoon run in the eyes of the Carroll second baseman caused her to drop a high pop by Manning, scoring a run and moving the lead runner to third base.

Reynolds then drove the ball hard to left field for an RBI, and GA was up 3-1 midway through the third.

The hosts were able to tie the game in their half of the third as Germantown got its signals crossed several times in the field. First the visitors couldn't decide who was going to field a pop-up, and later on, they tried to get one runner out at the plate but threw the ball around and let two runs score instead.

The Fort Washington Patriots surged back into the lead with a four-run burst at the top of the fourth frame. Smith started things off with a double to right centerfield, then a dropped ball at first base left Johnson safe on first while Clark moved to third.

On a long drive to left field by Clark, the ball bounced through a hole in the outfield fence, giving her a ground-rule double and letting both baserunners score to make it 5-3. On senior Emily Spillane's fly-out to center, Carroll tried to make a play on Clark at third, but tossed the ball out of play for another GA run.

Next, Howard made contact and reached second base on a throwing error by the hosts.

Facing a new Carroll pitcher, Fiumara grounded out, moving Howard to third. Manning then blooped a hit over the head of the second baseman, raising her team's lead to 7-3.

Getting things back under control on defense, the visitors allowed one single but no runs in the bottom of the inning.

The GA batters piled on the new pitcher when the fifth inning got underway, although the host Patriots pocketed a GA fly to start off the segment. Then, however, singles by Smith and Johnson and a walk to Clark loaded the bases. Spillane also waited out a walk to push in one run, then Howard hit a double through the left side of the infield to earn two RBI's.

Fiumara directed a hit over the shortstop's head to load the bases once more. A run came home and the bases stayed filled when Manning was hit by a pitch and went to first. Reynold hit a ball which stayed fair as it soared past first base but then curved foul, eluding the charging right fielder. GA's 12th run came home, and the score was 13-3 after Walton singled to shallow left field.

Carroll was finally able to end the spree with a double play, getting a tag at the plate and an out at first base.

Germantown Academy was now up by 10 runs, but in the bottom of the fifth Carroll was able to stave of the mercy rule with a solo home run over the fence in centerfield. The Carroll blast was sandwiched between two fly-outs to the same field, and a pop tracked down in foul territory resulted in the final out.

In the visitors' half of the sixth inning, GA now needed to score one run to potentially bring the mercy rule into play once more. Instead, the visitors got four. A solid single between third and short by Johnson was followed by a soft tap down the first base line off the bat of Clark. She ran past the ball as it ambled along the boundary line, but, contrary to the catcher's expectations, the ball stayed in fair territory. Clark was safe at first base and Johnson moved up to second.

It looked as though Carroll might avoid the mercy rule once more as the next two GA batters field out to right and left field, but Fiumara drew a walk to load the bases. Manning hit the ball to the shortstop, who fielded the ball but then hesitated, her indecision costing her the chance to make a play at any base.

The 14th GA run scored and all the bags remained occupied. This set the stage for the coup de grace, delivered by Reynolds herself. She doubled to left center and the ball rolled back to the fence, scoring all three baserunners. The 17-4 final was on the board, and an infield ground-out stilled the GA bats and gave Carroll one last chance to avoid an early ending to the game.

The first batter grounded out to Reynolds, but the next made hard contact and drove the ball deep to centerfield. GA's Walton made the catch right at the fence for the second out of the inning. Carroll got a runner on with a single, then the next batter hit the ball to left field. Freshman Alexa Walton made a great throw to third base to nail the runner coming from first, and the game was over.