WYNNEWOOD, PA-- When sophomore Samantha Snyder is on the mound, head coach Stephanie Mill said she’s “unflappable.”
And that was on full display as Springside Chestnut Hill continued their win-streak over The Baldwin School 8-1 while Snyder recorded a season high 16 strikeouts.
“I felt like our defense was solid,” Mill said. “Sammy on the mound, had a season high 16 strikeouts, which obviously is a huge part of our defense. She was doing really well today, even though it's been our first warm day game.”
Snyder pitched a complete game recording just two hits and one walk in addition to her strikeouts. For Baldwin, sophomore pitcher Jules Torres also went the full seven innings. Baldwin’s only run came in the bottom of the fourth, when Snyder gave up two doubles to seniors Addison Ford and Charly Landlow back-to-back.
But Snyder never lost her composure.
“She's got a great mentality as a pitcher,” Mills said. “Nothing really bothers her. When she's out there, whether it's a call that could go either way, she doesn't let it affect her, or a base hit, she comes right back in and she focuses, she maintains composure.”
But it wasn’t just Snyder’s efforts that led the Blue Devil’s past the Bears. The whole lineup was contributing, with senior Morgan Risnychok recording both a double and a triple and sophomore Ella Thomson and Snyder both recording two RBIs each. Senior Layla Shands had a single and a double.
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in game vs. Baldwin. (video/ Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
Mills, who is in her 25th season, said her team’s offensive performance was “much more productive” than when Springside Chestnut Hill opened the season on March 14 with a 3-1 win against Baldwin.
“Batters one through nine at some point, everybody stepped up and had a hit at some point in the game, or got on base or made something happen,” Mills said. “It was a full team effort today, which I was proud of.”
The Blue Devils are now 7-1 on the season with their only loss of the season coming against the Hun School in a non-league game. They’re undefeated in the Inter-Academic League, going 4-0 with their two wins over Baldwin and a 3-0 win over Penn Charter and a 16-0 win over Notre Dame Academy.
But rather than looking at their record, Mills said her team is looking ahead knowing they haven’t seen all the competition they’re going to face yet.
SCHA head coach Stephanie Mill lauds Snyder's performance on the mound. (video/ Mia Messina)
“I think our team, having almost everybody back, they know not to take anybody lightly. We know we have to keep working. We can't just sit back and be comfortable with that,” Mills said.
She specifically highlighted an upcoming game against Episcopal Academy after their two close games last season, saying they’re “well aware of that.” The two teams will face off again on May 6. The other team Mills noted was Germantown Academy who the Blue Devils will play next on April 29.
“We've got to just keep working hard every single day and not rest, and not take anything for granted,” Mills said.
