After sharing the 2022 Inter-Ac League softball championship with Episcopal Academy, the Blue Devils of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy were looking forward to the Pa. Independent Schools tournament, which was back on for this year after being called off in 2020 and 2021.

With Episcopal declining to enter the PAIS tournament, SCH was the clear choice for the number one seed, and the Devils lived up to that ranking in a three-day stretch last week. On Tuesday SCH knocked out ninth-seeded Penn Charter, 10-0, in a quarterfinal game, then came back the next day to win 2-0 in a semifinal against Friends Select School, the fifth seed.

It was on to the finals to face number two Shipley School on Thursday, in the championship game on a neutral field at Arcadia University. The Devils scored a run in the second inning and made it stand up the rest of the way to defeat the Gators, 1-0. SCH had last won both the Inter-Ac crown and the PAIS title back in 2018.

In recent years, games between Inter-Ac rivals Penn Charter and SCH have usually been nailbiters. Last spring the teams split in their two regular-season games, then SCH won by a single run in an Inter-Ac League tournament (arranged due to the cancellation of the PIAS playoffs).

This year was different, as the Blue Devils won the first clash, 6-0, then turned a 1-0 battle into a 4-0 victory late in the second game.

In addition to some timely hitting, a major reason for the Devils' success has been the dominance of senior pitcher Sam Klug.

Against the first batter she faced last Tuesday, she recorded her 400th career strike-out. More remarkable is the fact that she did this in only three varsity seasons, since COVID-19 quashed the 2020 campaign entirely.

Charter's second batter, senior Kam Koslosky, put the ball in play and reached second on an error, but was left on base.

In the bottom of the first, SCH junior Courtney Oliver led off by bashing a triple over the head of the right fielder. She stayed put for a pop-up, then scored what would prove to be the winning run on junior Faith Scally's hit to shallow right centerfield. After a single by Klug along the first base line, Scally scored from third on a ground-out by senior Marissa Wolff to make it 2-0.

PC got freshman Arielle Willis on base through an error, but Klug struck out the other three batters she faced in the top of the second inning.

Sophomore Kamaha'o Bode began the home half of the second with a walk, then she came around to score when a bunt by junior Emma Blaszczak led to an errant throw past first base by the visitors. Another miscue by the Quakers got freshman McKayla McKeever to first base while Blaszczak stayed at second.

Later a run scored on a blooper by Oliver that landed on the line in shallow right field, and scored on a throwing error by PC on a ball put in play by senior Darby Casey. The hosts now led 5-0.

That score stayed on the board through the third inning as Charter failed to capitalize on base hits by seniors Madi Brooks and Luci Boggi, then Springside started out with a double by Klug but ended up leaving the bases loaded thanks to a strike-out by PC freshman pitcher Ryan Hatty.

With two outs in the top of the fourth, hits by Hatty and Willis stationed Quakers on first and second base, but Klug's third strike-out of the frame retired the side.

On the flip side, SCH had the top of the order, Oliver, up first, and the Blue Devils would bat all the way through the line-up. Oliver singled over the head of the second baseman and reached second when Casey grounded out. Scally lofted the ball into shallow center and the Quakers had trouble getting a handle on it, giving the home team runners on second and third.

Both of them scored to make it 7-0 when Klug singled up the middle. A pinch runner for Klug, freshman Ava Figueroa, got to third on a wild pitch, then the batter, Wolff, walked. The visitors could not cleanly field a ball driven hard down the third base line by Bode, and a run scored while Wolff went to second. As Wolff is the SCH catcher, ninth-grader Zarin DeVeaux came in to run for her at this point.

Next, Blaszczak lined a ball to the left side that skipped off a fielder's glove, getting her to first safely and loading the bases. When McKeever grounded out to the left side a ninth run scored, then PC's Hatty struck out the next batter.

Now batting in the top of the fifth, the Quakers needed to put some distance between themselves and the 10-run mercy rule. They had the top of the order coming up, and after SCH pocketed a high pop-up, first Koslosky and then Boggi singled. They stayed on first and second as SCH caught another pop-up and a longer fly ball to dispel the threat.

The Blue Devils now needed just one run to immediately end the game in the bottom of the fifth. They too, were starting with the top of the order, and Oliver singled through the right side of the infield. She moved to second when Casey drew a walk, then scored the final run of the day when Scally smashed a ball that bounced to the fence in right center.

Klug got the win with nine strike-outs and no walks, while the Quakers' Hatty struck out three batters and walked four.

Runs weren't as easy to come by the against Friends Select the next day, when the final score was 2-0. Klug, as usual, handcuffed the opposing batters, and the Falcons collected their lone hit at the top of the seventh inning.

The Devils' own batters faced a relatively slow Falcons pitcher, SCH head coach Stephanie Mill noted, "We couldn't really get our timing down. We kept getting ahead of her pitches and we weren't able to slow it down."

What proved to be the game-winning run was scored in the second inning. Bode drew a walk and went to second on a passed ball, then scored on a hit by McKeever. The insurance run came in the fifth, with the RBI going to Wolff. She doubled to bring in Scally, who had singled and had stolen second.

SCH advanced to the finals to meet another Friends Schools League franchise, Shipley. This year's FSL champion was actually Friends Central School, but the Phoenix, like the Episcopal Churchwomen, chose not to enter the Indy Schools tournament.

The Blue Devils had defeated Shipley, 6-2, back in March, in the second game of the season. The Gators had a different pitcher in the circle this time, though, and after trying to adapt to the relatively slow throws of the Friends Select hurler, SCH had a bit of trouble adjusting back to a true fast-pitch style.

The lone run of the game came in the second inning. Wolff hit the ball deep in the hole at short, then beat out the Gators' throw for a single. Bode then whacked a towering shot almost to the fence in left centerfield. Not sure whether the ball would be caught or not, Wolff wound up on third base on Bode's double. Blaszczak bunted and reached first safely when Shipley focused on holding Wolff on third.

The bases were now loaded with no outs, but the Gators began to work out of the jam by striking out Springside's number eight and nine hitters. The lead-off, Oliver, calmly worked the count to 3-2, then let a ball go by for a walk that pushed home the lone run of the afternoon.

The Blue Devils never had such an opportunity again, striking out a total of 14 times while generating four hits.

Working with such a slim lead, Coach Mill reported, "It was just a high level of stress all the time; every play seemed magnified. Our defense held up very well in the field though, they were really solid."

Wolff threw out one runner trying to steal, and Casey had some notable plays at second, including one where she retreated well into shallow right field to catch a pop fly.

In the circle, Klug ended her outstanding scholastic career by logging 12 strike-outs while giving up one hit.