As the wind blew dust up from the field on April 7, Strath Haven [3-2] played a seven-inning game against Marple Newtown [4-0].
Though the girls lost, they held out longer than they have in previous seasons against a tough opponent.
“It wasn’t that bad, to be honest,” senior Avery Smith said. “I honestly don’t know, in my four years, if we’ve ever gone seven innings against Marple.”
The girls kept the game tied at 0-0 until the Tigers got five runs in the fourth inning. Marple Newtown scored their remaining four points in the seventh inning, making the final score 9-0.
“I thought we did great against this team,” sophomore Cyan Jukkala said. “[They’re] really good in the Central League. I think we did well only getting runs from the other team in two innings, and we had 0-0 for a good run of the game.”
Junior Kailey Smith had several great catches throughout the game and many players made it to at least first base.
“It’s just small [errors], but I think it’s things we can fix, which is good,” Avery Smith said. “I think we put together good at-bats. We had runners on, which is good. We executed some bunts when we needed to.”
The challenging matchup encourages the team to work on their game for the rest of the season.
“We have a lot of stuff to work on later this week, but we know we have to work on it, so I think that was good at least,” senior Annika Slootmaker said. “They’re fixable things.”
The girls hope for a comeback at Garnet Valley on April 8.
![The girls varsity lacrosse team shouts during their pre-game huddle at their playoff game against Villa Maria Academy on May 19. The team lost 5-15, but the athletes had a lot of great saves and plays. "Coming off of a season losing a lot of valuable players, I think we really adjusted well, and we came together [and] did the best we could," Tessa Dignazio (10) said.](https://shpantherpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/GEBHARDT-GLAX-5.19-19.jpg)
![The varsity softball team chants during their pre-game huddle at the Division I playoff game against Phoenixville on May 18. The girls ended with a 14-7 record. “I think it was a really good season, especially [since] we went into the season with positions being moved around and losing a lot of important seniors from last year,” catcher Alyssa Bisordi (10) said.](https://shpantherpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/GEBHARDT-SOFTBALL-PLAYOFFS-5.18-2-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Alice Rieger (10) explodes to reach the frisbee during the game against Garnet Valley on April 28. Rieger scored multiple points for Haven and was excited to see the younger players in the game. "We put a lot of effort into our defense, and we spent a lot of work putting on some players who are less experienced, so that they could work on their own game. We could get a lot of good chemistry with the team and [get] in some players who don't get to play as much,” Rieger said.](https://shpantherpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/3D7A9038-1200x800.jpg)
